Dark Wings
by Jediempress
Summary: Something was causing Riku's suddenly strange behavior. A voice was whispering to him. And the nightmares... Cursed blood pulls the redeemed soul back into the darkness.
1. The Nightmare Begins

This is why SquarEnix and Disney will _never_ give me the rights to this series.

* * *

Dark Wings

_The Nightmare Begins_

_Screams filled the air, competing with the roar and crackle of flames that were all too quickly consuming everything they touched. Smoke poured from windows that had been left partially open to let in the cool night air. The smell of burning flesh wound its way through that of charring wood._

_A man ran toward him, ranting. Soot covered his face and chest. His eyes were hysterical and he clung to his arm as if he were seeking salvation._

You are his savior. Release him from his prison, Son. Release him from this hell so that he may know the true hell that awaits him.

_Where the man touched him, smoke began to rise. He screamed and drew away as his hand suddenly burst into flame. The rest of him soon followed._

_He simply walked away._

_More came to him. He smiled tightly at how they all sought him out in their desperation. He was their angel._

A shame that they realize this too late…Bless them, my child, so that their souls will forever bleed in recognition of our mercy.

_They all fell to the ground at his feet, blood staining the earth. It was a shame that this purging was necessary. If only these sinners had recognized the living god before them. If only…_

They are not worthy of the forgiveness you are bestowing upon them, my son. They imprisoned me for years, afraid that their self-perceived greatness would be revealed as the lie that it is. We are this world's future and these creatures must be purged.

_A blonde woman approached him. There was something familiar about her blue eyes… Silver flashed along her torso and she fell, crimson spreading below her. With her dying breath, she rolled on to her back._

_...And Cloud's face stared blankly up at him._

Riku shot up, wide-awake and gasping for air; He immediately looked beside him and the panic subsided. Cloud lay on his side, still asleep and softly snoring.

Closing his eyes, willing himself to calm down, Riku fell back against his pillow. His heart pounded and his chest felt constricted. He knew he was shaking but could not stop himself.

This was not his first nightmare, far from it. He had been plagued with them nearly his entire life. They had changed after his time in the dark realm but where no less intense. Those hellish dreams had significantly decreased since they had found a way to keep them at bay. ...Or rather, Sora had.

His best friend had been the one to conclude that if Riku did not sleep alone, perhaps the nightmares would stop. The younger boy had forced Riku to move in with him and his mom for a full week. The boys had slept in the same bed and the nightly terrors had lessened greatly.

When they did come, Sora would awaken immediately and was able to calm Riku instantly. He would pull the taller one to him, holding him close without a word. After a few minutes of this, Riku would be able to sleep again.

It had been after this discovery that Riku had been re-introduced to Cloud Strife.

He had crossed paths with the blonde man several times while Riku worked for Maleficent and Cloud was under contract to Hades. There had been a connection between them from the beginning but neither had acted upon it. They had too much going on in their lives to even attempt a relationship.

When they met again a year later, that connection returned, stronger than before and this time, neither denied it. Within a month, they were lovers. After another month's time, it was realized that Riku had not had a single nightmare since he began spending his nights with the blonde.

"Riku…?" mumbled Cloud, voice thick with sleep, "You all right?"

"Yeah," The nearly eighteen-year-old reached over to toy with Cloud's spiked hair. "Go back to sleep."

"Mmm, Cloud shifted, tugging on the other's arm.

Riku grinned and allowed himself to be pulled into the blonde's embrace. He was wrapped again in that warmth that was uniquely Cloud and he truly began to relax. He drifted back into sleep, letting the strange nightmare slip away.

--0—0—

"Spiky keep you up again last night?"

Riku blinked. "What?"

Zack laughed. "Look, I'm sure he's good and all but sleep really is one of those necessary things."

He shot the older man a glare but it lacked any substance. He refocused his attention on the computer and told himself to stay awake. Isolating rouge programs was not the thing to be doing when one only had a combined total of about ten hours of sleep for the previous three nights.

He had that same nightmare three nights in a row now. It had to mean something but for the life of him, he could not figure out what. It was so different from the terrors born of the darkness to which he had grown accustomed. This one was more like the ones from his childhood, the ones that had been so vivid he was nearly convinced they were real.

"Hey, are you and Cloud still going out with us tonight?" Zack asked. The question was followed by a muttered curse. He was trying to de-power the heartless manufactory completely, which was proving to be a great deal more complicated than any one originally thought.

Riku hit a few keys, starting a new chain of decryption. "So far as I know we are."

"Good. Aerith was worried Cloud was going to try to back out."

"Oh, he just likes to complain."

"You think I don't know that?" The raven-haired man lifted his head. "I've been his best friend for how long now?"

"You were also dead for how many of those years?" Riku smirked. "Sora and I have been friends for longer."

Zack snorted, returning his attention to his project. "And you can tell. Creeps me out sometimes how both of you know exactly what the others going to do."

"You and Cloud can do that, too."

"Not like you can. And you are almost as good at anticipating me and Cloud."

The teen bit his lip. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"No, it's just creepy."

Riku shook his head and turned back to the computer. Three programs were now isolated and after a few more commands would remain so. It was a long tedious process but unfortunately necessary.

As he set the new parameters, he studied the master file names that labeled each of the programs. One was yet another redundant back up for the public safety system that supposedly existed but no one had yet to find. That could be deleted.

The next was a secondary program for the town's defense mechanism. Digging a bit deeper into it, Riku began thinking that he may have finally found the missing component that he had to bypass to get the damn thing to work as well as it did. That would be nice.

The third one was coded differently than the other two. He frowned when he saw it and tried to open it. It was locked down by four pass codes. Now that was interesting.

He spent a few more minutes fiddling with it but nothing happened. Thanks to his time merged with Xehanort, or rather his Heartless, nearly all of the apprentice's memories were imprinted to his own mind. If this was one of his, Riku should have been able to figure it out.

Riku glanced toward the doorway. Leon was approaching. That meant they were done for the day. He turned back to the computer. "We're being sprung."

"Huh?" Zack looked up and a moment later Leon came through the entryway. "I wish I knew how you do that, kid."

The teen shrugged. He really did not know how he was able to sense other people so easily. It was yet another side effect of the darkness that he had randomly picked up and kept.

"I'm officially logging my resignation, Leon." Zack sat up with a groan. "This thing is a freakin' nightmare."

"I warned you it would be." Leon replied easily.

Riku had gone back to the mysterious program file, his attention oddly focused on it. The isolation program finished its run on the other two but it struggled with this one. Everything about this was peculiar.

"Riku…"

He blinked and faced the other two.

"You ready to go?" Leon asked.

"Uh, yeah," Riku glanced back at the screen. The system would close itself once it was finished. Tomorrow he would work on figuring out what the unknown program was. He stood. "Let's go."

--0—0—

"Why do I keep letting you drag me on these double dates?" Cloud complained, tossing his jacket on to the back of the sofa.

Riku automatically picked it up and hung it on the coat hook along with his. "Why can't you figure out how to hang your coat?"

Cloud turned and sighed. "Sorry, I'm just…"

"You're usual wonderful self after dinner with Zack." Riku finished for him with a small smile.

"I'd be fine with it if he didn't insist on picking on me the entire time." The blonde stepped forward, meeting up with Riku and slipping his arms around him.

"But that's what best friends do." The younger man smirked, leaning his head in to nip at the shorter man's ear. "It isn't any worse than when Sora and I get together."

Cloud made a soft noise as Riku continued with his ear. The blonde's fingers pushed up the back of the other's shirt to caress the teen's pale skin. "I suppose…"

Riku pulled away, taking Cloud's hand and leading him down the hall to their bedroom. Once there, he lightly pushed the older man toward the bed. He grinned with intent as Cloud turned to look at him.

The blonde smirked as Riku stalked forward. The younger one shoved him back onto the mattress and instantly, Riku was straddling his thighs. Holding down both of Cloud's hands, he looked down upon him.

Riku leaned in, meeting Cloud's lips with his own with a near frantic need. Once tired of that, he moved on to cheek, jaw, and neck. He released one hand so that he could shove Cloud's shirt up, spreading his fingers across the man's solid chest.

Cloud's now free hand came up to clutch at Riku's hip. In response, the teen rolled those hips and sighed into the blonde's neck. This made Cloud moan, leaning up to begin working off his shirt.

Riku pulled away, helping him remove the unwanted piece of clothing. Then they divested Riku of his. The moment this was done, Riku was hunched back over devouring his lover's chest. Cloud threw his head back, both hands gripping Riku's narrow hips and urging them forward.

It was a familiar dance that never lost its thrill. Cloud still could not believe the things Riku could do with his tongue. It never took long for the blonde to need more substantial contact once the younger got started. Somehow, Riku always knew exactly what the other wanted and when.

They broke apart once again, stripping one another of the rest of their interfering clothing. Riku had gotten quite adept at removing Cloud's pants while keeping the man in place. Cloud likewise undid the fastenings of Riku's easily, the silvered one lifting himself up just long enough for the clothes to be removed.

The young man had moved his way down, attending to Cloud's current needs. He held both hands to his lover's lower abdomen as his mouth easily worked at Cloud's erection. For Riku, the feeling of skin pressed against skin was as real as it got. He could always judge where Cloud was at by how the muscles beneath that smooth, delectable skin moved.

…And right now, the older man was on the verge of losing control.

Riku let up his efforts, sliding up and moaning at the blonde's hands moving forward along his hips. He leaned down, pressing his hips against the other. Cloud groaned and rose up enough to meet him in a searing kiss.

They switched positions, Riku now on his back. Cloud's hand worked its way down the silvered one's chest, hipbone, and lower. While Cloud was a glutton for Riku's tongue, Riku could be brought to the very edge of bliss just by Cloud tracing warm fingertips over every stretch of available skin.

Riku arched up, moaning steadily. Cloud paused and at Riku's glare, smirked. They never actually spoke during sex but they had mastered the art of silent communication.

Waiting a moment longer, Cloud held onto Riku's thigh as he reached for some lubrication from the nightstand. He moved back enough to position the younger man correctly and quickly applied the oil to himself. Once this was accomplished, he reached out his hand and Riku laced their fingers together just as their bodies joined.

Riku moaned and gasped, his grip on Cloud's hand tightening as his sense of self faded in a haze of pleasure. Their clasped hands did not separate, even after they each found completion in their frantic movements. Cloud collapsed against his chest and they waited contently for each other's breath to settle into a more natural rhythm.

Cloud squeezed Riku's fingers, shifting to move up and next to the silvered teen. Lying on his side, pressed against the slightly larger body, Cloud traced Riku's jaw with his free hand. "I love you."

Riku turned, sliding down as Cloud fell onto his back. The younger one lifted his head to give the blonde a deep kiss. Then he settled beside him, head pillowed on Cloud's chest. "I love you."

After a few minutes, Cloud was asleep and Riku listened to his steady heartbeat. Between that and their entwined fingers, Riku felt a peculiar reassurance. Eventually, he managed to fall asleep.

Maybe tonight he would not have the nightmare.

* * *

So what do we think? This will be much darker than my usual and in no way fits with my normal universe/other works.


	2. Unsusual Things

_Unusual Things_

Riku snapped awake, lingering visions of flames and bloodstained cobblestone dancing before him. Again, he made that quick look to the side to confirm that Cloud was still there, alive and well, as he controlled his panicked breath.

Willing his body to relax, he stared at the ceiling. _It was that same damned dream…_ He had hoped that by working himself to exhaustion, he would simply be too tired to dream but that had not worked.

With a heavy sigh, Riku sat up and left the bed. He crossed the room, retrieving his discarded boxers and pulling them on. Slipping out the door, he padded silently down the hall.

Moonlight streamed through the large bay window on the far wall of the living room. His sketchbook lay on the flat cushion of the window seat, pencil stuffed into the wire binding. He eyed it for a moment before picking it up and moving it to the coffee table.

Climbing onto the seat, Riku pressed his head against the chilled glass. He wrapped his arms around his bent knees and studied the street outside. It was absolutely still on the other side of the window.

In his mind's eye, the quiet street slowly morphed into the one from the nightmare. He forced the vision back, closing his aqua eyes tightly. Something that almost felt like a caress brushed against his consciousness and he was strangely comforted despite the unsettled feeling that came with it.

He did not know what was causing the nightmare or these odd, almost loving, whispers of touch that had started grazing his awareness occasionally at nearly the same time as the dreams. He knew that it was not he himself carrying out the terrible actions in the dreams and that soothing female voice was not speaking to him. It was almost as if he had somehow been dropped within another's body and was simply along for the ride.

Who was this person?

Opening his eyes, he sighed and left the window seat. He got himself a bottle of water from the kitchen and returned to the bedroom. Setting the bottle on the nightstand, he looked down upon the bed.

Cloud lay in his usual position, sound asleep. It was troubling that the man seemed to be completely unaware of Riku's recent bout of nightmares. He had known of the ones prior, usually walking up along with Riku on the increasingly rare occasions he had them.

Riku slid back into bed, shifting close enough to his lover to feel the faint heat of his body. Careful not to disturb Cloud's slumber, he draped his arm across the older man's hip. He still was not entirely sure why he took so much comfort in skin-on-skin contact.

Cloud stirred a little, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He moved his own arm to rest it directly beside Riku's own. Peace settled within Riku's heart and he knew that for the rest of this night at least, he would be able to sleep. He would worry about the next night later.

--0—0—

Riku awoke alone and for a moment, an unreasonable panic seized him. He forced himself to calm down, telling himself that he would know if something happened to Cloud. Willing his mind to still, he thought about what the blonde's presence felt like.

He sighed and relaxed against the pillows when he felt Cloud approaching. The door slowly opened and the older man slipped in, a light smile on his face. Riku grinned back. "I can't believe you woke up before me."

Cloud shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

"Very true…"

Cloud climbed onto the bed, sitting on his knees beside his younger lover. Blue eyes gazed down with a touch of concern. "Are you all right?"

Riku frowned a little, "Yeah, why?"

"Don't know." The blonde shrugged again. "I know you haven't been sleeping well."

Riku smiled reassuringly. He really did not want Cloud to worry. "The last couple of nights have been a bit restless but I'm fine. It's just the stress from dealing with that damned computer."

Cloud nodded, still a bit uncertain. Apparently he had noticed more than Riku originally thought. He at least recognized that something was off.

Riku reached out and took hold of Cloud's arm. He tugged on it, pulling the older man down. Cloud braced one hand on the mattress as his head dropped to meet with Riku's silvered one. The teen engaged him in a long, lingering kiss.

With obvious reluctance, Riku broke the contact. In a breathy voice, he commented, "We should get moving."

"I thought we were."

Riku smirked and gently shoved Cloud's shoulder. The blond grinned and climbed off the bed. Riku followed a moment later. Cloud was already dressed and headed for the kitchen to make fresh coffee, one of the few household things he could be trusted to accomplish without incident. Riku decided to forgo a shower, grabbing some clothes and doing a quick clean up in the bathroom.

He met Cloud in the kitchen, taking the mug of coffee offered to him gratefully. They each ate a muffin and once they finished with breakfast, the couple headed out to Ansem's study. The few people milling about the marketplace greeted them cheerfully.

Riku felt an odd stirring within his chest in reaction. He nodded and waved back automatically; for some reason, the townspeople were irritating to him. He just wanted them to leave him alone-

_Filthy humans._

The silver-haired teen's steps faltered. He quickly glanced around but the only person near him was Cloud. The words had been a bare whisper, something he was not even sure he actually heard. There was something achingly familiar about the voice.

"Riku?" asked Cloud in a soft tone.

"I'm fine." Even Riku realized how reflexive the statement was. He began walking again, Cloud quickly falling into place beside him. Both remained quiet for the rest of the journey to the castle.

Zack was already in the computer room, both arms tangled up in wires. He glanced over and, upon seeing the smirk on Cloud's face, scowled. "Don't even start, Spike."

"Sometimes I'm glad I'm incompetent." The blond grinned. He just managed to jump away from the kick Zack launched at him. "I've got to get over to the courtyard before Leon gets too pissed at me."

Riku nodded and the couple exchanged a brief kiss. Cloud touched his cheek for a moment before heading back out. Zack watched this quietly and once Cloud left, he quirked a black eyebrow at Riku. "What's going on?"

The teen gave him a look feigning incomprehension. Before Zack could call him on it, Riku turned toward the computer. Now that he was here, he wanted to get back to that strange program he had found yesterday.

He stopped before the unit and noticed it was already up and running. "Was Leon or Cid in here this morning?"

"Nope, why?"

"The computer's on."

Zack looked up. "Did you forget to shut it off?"

"It should have shut down on its own." Riku slid into the chair and tapped a few keys. The system snapped out of sleep mode and Riku narrowed his eyes. It was still trying to decode the mystery program. Frowning, he stopped his program and stared at the strangely coded file.

Whatever the program that he had found was, it clearly did not belong here.

Riku began trying various other things to get the program to respond but it reacted to nothing. He was beginning to think it was some kind of sleeper program, but he could not discern how it was triggered. In addition, it did not seem to be connected to any other program in the network.

A hand touched his shoulder and just by the touch, he knew who it was. "Is it lunch already?"

"Yeah," Cloud massaged where Riku's shoulder and neck met. "Something must really have your attention for you to lose track of time like that."

Riku let his head fall to the side, enjoying Cloud's light contact. "One of the programs I found is being difficult. It isn't anything that you would understand."

"Oh," The blond was clearly disinterested. "So do you want to stay here and keep at it or go out for lunch?"

Riku angled his head back and looked up. He studied the older man from his upside-down vantage. "You want to go out?"

"Yeah; we haven't been out alone together in a while." Cloud smiled gently, bending down to place a kiss on the teen's forehead. "We're always going out with Zack and Aerith."

Riku lifted his head and turned in his chair. He stood up, set the computer on stand-by and stepped over to his lover. He wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist. "So where are we going?"

--0—0—

An hour later, Riku was resting his head on Cloud's leg in the park. Cloud was sitting against a tree looking over the small stream that ran through the area. Riku's eyes were closed as the blond idly ran his fingers through Riku's lengthy silver hair.

Riku suddenly sighed. "Do we have to go back already?"

"Man, how do you do that?" Zell shook his head as he and Leon approached. "We're still like ten feet away."

A gust of wind tugged at their clothes and flitted through their hair. Leon and Zell finished their approach and Leon folded his arms. "If it makes you feel better, you both can have tomorrow off."

An aqua colored eye cracked open. "What are you making us do?"

The sable-haired man smirked. "Now why do you automatically assume I'm going to make you do something?"

"You came all the way out here to find us and you're giving us tomorrow off." Riku frowned. "You're making us help Zack, aren't you?"

"The whole damn thing is a bigger nightmare than any of us ever believed." Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just want it _done_."

Riku blew out an angry breath as he quickly sat up. "…And so now _I_ have to fix the damn problem."

The other three looked at him oddly. This just bothered him further. "What?'

Leon frowned. "You can say no. I'm not forcing anyone to do anything."

"Its fine," Riku waved casually, all sign of his prior anger gone. "Come on, Cloud."

He took his lover's hand and pulled him up. He gave him a light smile and nodded at the other two. They walked down the hill and Riku pretended he did not feel Leon's eyes on his back.

Cloud was glancing at him also. He ignored that as well, simply holding on to the man's hand. Why had he gotten so angry just now? That was not like him at all. He enjoyed working on the restoration. It made him happy to know that he was doing something to repair some of the damage he had helped create.

They returned to the Heartless Manufactory where Zack and Cid were already planning a new strategy. Riku finally released Cloud and joined them at the railing. Cloud hung back a bit, knowing that at this stage of things he would just be in the way.

After fifteen minutes of discussion, Riku moved away. He went over to Cloud and caressed his cheek. "Go downstairs with Zack and Cid. They'll tell you what to do."

"Got it."

Riku grinned at him and headed for the computer room. He hunched down to begin messing with the pulled apart secondary power grid and paused. Glancing over his shoulder, he straightened back out and went to the computer.

He switched it out of stand-by and stared at that strange program. It was really beginning to bother him that he could not figure it out. He bit his lip in thought. There had to be some way to open the thing.

"Hey, Tron...?" Riku almost never interacted with the computer's artificial intelligence. He was not sure why, but he did not like working with Tron. After the first few attempts, they had both come to the conclusion that Riku was more than capable of working the system on his own and Tron would only step in when asked.

An electronic male voice replied. "Yes, User Riku?"

"You know anything about this program that I've got in ISO?"

There was a moment of silence. "It is not one of the original system files. It appears to exist outside the grid."

Riku sighed. He had already concluded that. "Can you compile everything you can find on when the program was added? Who was it added under, what else was done around that time?"

"Of course, User Riku; it will take some time."

"That's fine. It's going to be a while before I can get back to it," Riku assured him. He turned back to torn up panel and paused. "Hey, Tron...?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, User Riku."

It took an hour for Riku to get the motherboard re-routed and stripped down to the basic requirements. He adjusted the settings and waited. A minute later, a single light blinked and the teen grinned.

They had concluded that the main network had a failsafe in which if the secondary system went down, it would lock out the main. Now that the secondary was back up, Cid should be able to deactivate the main system. Once that was complete, they could tackle re-deactivating the secondary.

He headed for the entrance to see what he could do down there but stopped and turned. "Tron…? Find anything yet?"

"The program is completely independent of the DTD or the rest of the system. It was added five years ago and was the only thing added within five cycles before or after. The User's name was erased."

Riku lifted an eyebrow and returned to the computer terminal. "Do you have any idea what that person could have been trying to do?"

"No, though after examining the program I am of the belief that it is a copy, not the original."

"So someone was storing a back-up copy." Riku frowned. That did not feel right.

"The program has not been accessed in three years but in the two before that, it was opened almost daily. Again the User's name was deleted."

Now that was interesting. Whoever was using this program had stopped coming here about the time the Heartless took over Radiant Garden. His first thought was that it had belonged to, or was made by, one of Ansem's apprentices but if that were the case, wouldn't Organization XIII have tried to get it?

This was getting strange.

"One other thing I was able to ascertain: There is a code embedded beneath the locks and access codes."

"What is it?"

"Project J/S-1."

"Hey, Riku!" Zack's voice drifted from the Manufactory. "You joining us or what? Spike's getting lonely!"

Riku pursed his lips. He was going to have to come back to this later. He thanked Tron and asked him to file the information. Standing, he kept his eyes fixed on the innocent looking program icon on the screen.

After a minute, he pulled his gaze away and headed out of the room.


	3. Returning to the Beginning

Returning to the Beginning

It was four hours before Riku returned to the computer room. The secondary system had not wanted to cooperate with them and both he and Cid had been cursing steadily for the previous hour. In the end, Zack had come over and after a minute of studying the screens simply reached out and hit control, alt, delete.

The system completely shut down.

Cid had cursed even more at that, shoving at the former SOLDIER's shoulder good-naturedly. Zack shrugged, stating that if they had not done all the complicated stuff to get to that point, he would not have been able to sweep in and save the day. Cloud snorted and said that was how Zack did everything.

Zack had looked insulted by the comment and the two were soon engaged in a friendly fistfight. Both were grinning happily as they threw punches at one another. This was not unusual for the two, they were best friends and as close as any siblings Riku had even known, but at that moment, it greatly irritated him.

He had looked over at Cid, told the man he was going back to work on the main computer and left. He doubted the others had noticed he had gone. Again, he found himself getting angry about this.

Riku dropped into the chair before the display and gazed idly at the torn apart transfer panel near the entryway. He had been having odd mood swings since his time in the dark realm those few years ago but they had always been rather minor. Lately, for whatever reason, those shifts in emotion had become more abrupt. Things that had never bothered him before were really getting to him.

Maybe it was simply due to his poor sleep lately.

With a light sigh, he straightened his back and set to work once again deactivating the main system. It was mind-numbing work and Riku did not even have to think about what he was doing. It did not take long for his mind to wander.

Why was he doing all of this? This was not his world nor did he have any obligation to help Leon and the others with their efforts to restore it. It was a lost cause anyway.

Radiant Garden did not need restoration; it needed demolition. The world needed to be completely purged of the things that tainted it and rebuilt into a utopia. The world needed to be destroyed to become a new promised land worthy of the name Radiant Garden.

All of this was a futile effort.

"Riku?" A calloused hand settled on his shoulder.

Riku's thoughts settled and he leaned against the back of his chair. He had no idea why he was suddenly so down about all the work that had been accomplished. It was likely frustration over all the hang-ups they had encountered lately. "This is almost done."

Rough fingers traced a delicate path along the edge of his collar and dipped beneath it for a moment. The teen shivered a bit and felt himself relaxing. He was not sure how he had gotten so tense in the first place.

Cloud's words were soft. "What would you say to a weekend getaway?"

Riku angled his head back, silver bangs slipping past his eyes. This was rather sudden. "What brought this on?"

The older man shrugged. "Things have been rather stressful around here lately. Maybe if we got out of here for a few days, the nightmares will fade."

Riku was certain that his recent terrors were not stress induced. However, the break would be nice and it might help with the tension and allow him to get some rest at the very least. It really was not a bad idea but… "I don't think Leon's going to let us just disappear for a few days."

"Zack and Aerith are already working on that." Cloud removed his hand and walked around to lean a hip against the edge of the computer desk. "They noticed yesterday that you were looking worn."

Great, so now they were worrying about him. Why did they bother? They all would do better being concerned for themselves. Riku had been taking care of himself for years now.

Intense blue eyes studied him solemnly. "I really think you need this, Riku."

Oh, how he hated when Cloud sounded like that. Riku nodded slowly, giving his lover a faint smile. "Okay, let's go."

--0—0—

They departed the next day. Cloud absolutely refused to tell Riku where they were going, only smiling softly and stating that he knew what he was doing. Riku was to leave everything to him.

While the teen appreciated the gesture, he needed something to keep his thoughts focused. When he let his mind wander, it went to some increasingly strange places. He needed to keep his thoughts structured in some fashion. It was important that he kept his focus.

The Gummy ship was not very large and rather cramped up near the controls. Once they made the jump to warp and no one was needed to do any piloting, Riku stood. He tugged on Cloud's arm and pulled him from his seat, leading him to the bench that ran the length of the back of the cockpit.

Without explanation he forced Cloud to sit in the far corner, the man's back in the junction of walls and feet on the deck. Riku then climbed up on the bench, actually lying down upon it. He settled his head on Cloud's upper thigh and let one of his hands rest on the opposite leg. The blond did not question, simply bringing his own hand up to thread through lengthy silver locks gently.

In moments, Riku was asleep.

When he awoke, he felt like his head was in a fog. His body itself felt somewhat rested but there was a strange heaviness to his mind, as if he had not quite woken up. Cloud was still lightly stroking his hair and when Riku glanced up, he saw the man's eyes were closed.

Working some moisture back into his mouth, Riku shifted a bit. He knew Cloud was awake. "Sorry."

"For what?" The blond muttered, his eyes remaining shut.

"This wasn't what I had in mind when I dragged you over here."

A tiny smirk tugged at Cloud's lips. "I didn't think so but you need the rest. That's the whole purpose of this trip."

Riku said nothing, closing his eyes and attempted to force away the odd fog in his head. It was as if something was trying to blanket it. Sleep was supposed help clear tired minds, not make them worse.

"Riku...?" Cloud gently traced the boy's face with his fingertips. Concern laced his voice and, when the teen looked up, blue eyes gazed down with worry.

Riku turned into Cloud's touch, letting his palm cup his cheek. The warmth of it seeped into his skin and his mind cleared. This was only mildly interesting to the young man. He knew he had a strong reaction to touch, and Cloud's in particular. Even though it had never affected him mentally before, it did not seem like an unlikely development.

With a smile, Riku twisted his body. He crept up enough to bring his head even with his lovers. The hand that still rested upon the blond man's leg moved up a bit further. He pressed his lips to Cloud's, engaging him a greedy kiss, sucking lightly on his lower lip.

They lingered this way for several minutes before a warning tone chimed from the control panel. Reluctantly Riku pulled back, wiping a bit of moisture from the corner of his mouth and frowning. "Just how long was I asleep?"

"A few hours," Cloud replied, shifting slightly on the bench. Riku moved to get up but the blond held onto his waist. "We've still got some time."

Riku re-settled himself against Cloud's body, soaking in his warmth and sighing contently. He felt so perfect at that moment he did not think anything could ruin it. Cloud's heartbeat echoed steadily in his ear, nearly in time with his own.

Sleep again threatened to take him but he fought it, knowing that they were going to have to move rather soon. While he was still curious as to where they were going, he did not really care where it was so long as the rest of the trip was this soothing. He already felt so much better.

A few more minutes passed and a second tone sounded. This time Riku really did have to get up and, after a quick kiss, did so. He stepped to the side, watching Cloud stand. The blond stretched, rolling his shoulders. As he passed, he reached over and threaded his fingers through Riku's hair.

He took up the pilot's seat, Riku following and sitting in the co-pilot's chair. Cloud threw a few switches and made some adjustments. The ship shuddered slightly as the Gummi drive dropped out of warp. As the speed decreased, the location display lit up.

Riku stared at it for a long moment. He felt Cloud's eyes on him but did not have anything to say to him. He was not sure what was going on in his head as he watched the slowly spinning world on the small screen.

He had not been back to Destiny Islands in over half a year, not since he had permanently relocated to Radiant Garden. He was of mixed feelings about his home world. There were times he missed it so much his heart ached. He knew it was more the people than the places but that did not make much of a difference. Other times, he thanked every higher being he could think of that he was away from there. He still was not entirely sure why he had been so driven to leave.

Right now, he felt a strange combination of longing to see his friends and the desire to get as far from here as possible. 

"Does Sora know we're here?" The silvered one asked quietly.

"Yeah;" Cloud was clearly questioning whether this had been a good idea or not.

Riku turned his head, offering a genuine smile. Despite the peculiar uneasy feeling he suddenly had, his words were absolute truth. "It'll be good to see him again."

The worry left Cloud's eyes and he smiled back before getting the ship ready to land. While he did this, Riku fixed his gaze back on the display. He did not know why but he had a bad feeling about this.

--0—0—

"Riku!" Selphie came barreling out of nowhere and nearly toppled the much taller teenager. Cloud had quickly scrambled out of the way as Riku was glomped.

Several yards away, Sora and Kairi were nearly running toward them. Tidus and Wakka followed at a much more subdued rate. When the lead two approached, Selphie finally released Riku only to have Sora immediately take her place.

"Uh, Sor…? I can't breath." Riku managed out, all the while grinning. It was not until he was here in the presence of his childhood friends that he realized just how much he missed them.

Sora pulled back. "Sorry! It's just been a long time."

"You and Kairi saw him last month." Tidus rolled his eyes. "We're the ones who haven't seen him in months."

"Yeah, well remember Sora thinks he owns me." Riku chuckled as he hugged Kairi with one arm and clapped hands with first Tidus then Wakka.

"I do not!" protested Sora. "I signed my rights over to Cloud when you moved."

As if noticing the blond man for the first time, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka all looked toward Cloud. He simply stood quietly to the side, watching the small reunion. Kairi smiled at him and moved away from Riku.

Riku held out his hand and when Cloud took it, pulled his lover to him. Slipping his arm around the shorter man's waist, he glanced at him with shining eyes. "Everyone, this is Cloud. These are Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie."

Selphie gushed about how gorgeous Cloud was and how insanely jealous she was as Tidus and Wakka waved their greetings which were returned by a quick nod. Kairi brought Selphie back under control, at least verbally; she was still bouncing lightly, flipped up brown hair mimicking her body's movement. Sora, while clearly happy to see his best friend, had a concerned look to his eyes.

Riku noticed this and frowned to himself. He had to wonder what Cloud had told Sora the reason for their visit was. He fought back a sudden wave of anger at the older man for saying anything at all.

"We better get moving, ya," prompted Wakka. "The tide's gonna be changing soon."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me and Mom?" Sora asked as they all began walking toward the boats. "We have the room and I know Mom would love it. She really wants to meet you, Cloud."

"I'm sure we'll be over there at some point," assured Cloud, giving the young brunet a brief grin. "This is supposed to be a vacation. I just figured it would be nice to visit a few friends in the process."

"Well, Kairi got you in at the _best_ villa resort in _all_ the islands!" Selphie giggled as she skipped backwards. "I guess it's one of the perks of being friends with the mayor's daughter. It's such a nice place! I bet it's horribly romantic there! I _so_ want someone to take me someday."

Riku tuned the hyper girl out as she continued detailing the resort where he and Cloud were apparently staying. He was forming an odd headache in the back of his skull and it was causing an odd buzzing effect. Due to this, everything Selphie said was grating on his nerves.

He brought a hand up to his neck, massaging at it. Sora caught this movement and frowned deeply at Riku. The silvered one gave him a mild glare. "What?"

Sora bit his lip, angling his head. "You okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Riku snapped. "I'm fine."

The others looked at him oddly, Cloud getting that worried look again. Riku closed his eyes and slowly breathed out. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired, alright?"

Sora nodded in understanding and Cloud silently wrapped his arm tightly around Riku's waist. The others made various dismissive motions with the exception of Kairi, who also seemed to recognize there was something bigger going on here. She moistened her lips and offered a smile.

"Well then, we better get you to the villa so you can _relax_," she giggled on the last word, shooting her older friend a suggestive wink. They had reached the boats and the group began splitting off into pairs. "The two of you can either ride together or my boat can probably handle the three of us."

"Actually, I want Riku to ride with me." Sora put in. There was uncertainty in his expression but his voice indicated this was more than a request.

Riku studied him a moment before nodding his acceptance. Cloud kissed him near the earlobe before pulling away to join Kairi and Selphie at their boat. The silvered one followed Sora and within a few minutes, all the boats had shoved off and were heading for the main island.

Riku fixed his eyes on the passing water, watching the oar dip repeatedly into it as Sora rowed. He knew Sora was worried, it literally radiated from him, and while he appreciated that concern, it was quickly growing troublesome.

_Come back._

"What?" The older teen looked back toward the play island.

"What, what?" Sora asked, cocking his head to the side.

Who had said that? The voice had drifted to him from the direction of the fading land mass, echoing hollowly in his head. He could not identify if it was male or female but it called to him and he had a sudden urge to order Sora to turn around.

He shook his head a little to clear it. The action helped a bit but that pulling to go back remained. It almost felt like that night over two years ago…

"Hey, Sora...?" Riku kept his low voice soft. "Have you been…?"

"What, Riku?" There was so much emotion in that simple question; Riku decided he could not add to it.

He straightened his back and forced a dismissive smile, facing his oldest and dearest friend. "Never mind, I've just been off lately."

Sora was clearly not convinced but he grinned back and the moment passed. "That's okay. You'll feel better soon. Cloud sounded really worried about you when he called so Kai did everything she could to get you guys the best room at the resorts."

Aqua eyes flicked toward the boat slightly ahead of them. Cloud had ended up rowing for Kairi and Selphie. The fading sunset glinted off his blond spikes and he looked simply gorgeous. "He shouldn't worry so much."

"Well he loves you," Sora chuckled. "Man, I kinda always knew you were gay but… I never in a million years would have expected you and Cloud to get together. And you're both so _happy_."

"Yeah, we are." Riku felt a real smile pull at his lips. "I never thought I could love someone as much as I do him."

As the words left him, so did that peculiar tugging from the play island. When he realized this, he began wondering why. What was happening to him?

He forced the questions back and focused on Sora. He asked the brunet what he had missed in the time he had been gone and the boy eagerly began detailing all the gossip he knew. Riku listened intently, laughing and commenting where appropriate, and by the time they reached the docks, his early discernment was completely gone.

Sora brought the small vessel up to the pier and Riku automatically climbed out to rope it off. Once finished, he held out a hand and helped Sora from the boat. They grinned at the familiarity of the effort before meeting up with the rest of the group at the land end of the dock.

Riku stopped close to Cloud, grasping his hand and nuzzling into the blonde man's ear. When Cloud glanced at him, he merely smiled and bumped against his shoulder. Cloud's return smile sent a thrill through him.

Selphie grinned madly at the little display. "Oh, you two really need to be around more!"

Kairi rolled her eyes and shoved the girl's shoulder. "You have mangas for that."

"It's not the same, Kai!"

Tidus and Wakka apparently decided they had enough for the day and bid their farewells. When they left, Selphie settled down a little, giggling that it was so much fun to annoy the two athletes. She even not so subtly hinted that she was convinced they had some secret relationship.

Sora and Kairi sighed, having heard the girl's crackpot theories too many times before and focused on the visiting couple. Kairi tucked some hair behind her ear. "Well, the next ferry to Haven is in about forty minutes; it runs every hour. Do you guys want to get some food?"

Riku was not hungry but he shrugged and glanced at Cloud who followed the motion. "Is the crepe shop still open?"

"Yeah," Sora got an excited look to his face. "Oh, those sound really good!"

"Didn't you eat already?" Kairi frowned.

Riku snorted. "Like that makes a difference."

"Hey!"

"Come on," the silver-haired member of the group took the lead, Cloud falling easily into step beside him. There was very little room between their bodies. "I want to be sure we're on that next ferry. The sooner we get checked in the better."

Selphie's grin became lecherous and she opened her mouth to no doubt voice some rather racy thoughts. Both Sora and Kairi clapped their hands over it, effectively silencing her. They then fell in behind the couple.

--0—0—0—

Hey, all. It's been what, a 100 years? Yeah, sorry about that. I'll try to be a bit faster with the next chapter but I get myself so worked up on this one it kinda kills me, you know? …But the plot will be beginning to move now so we should be good.

Thank you to everyone for your patience and support.


	4. Hints of Hope

Yes, I know. I'm sorry, but it probably won't be any faster in the future. I start school again in January so my time will be scarce. I'll do my best though. Just a warning, this chapter was only loosely beta'ed so there's probably a few mistakes.

* * *

Hints of Hope

_The man glanced around, fear and paranoia filling his eyes. He used the high, metal walls surrounding the doorway as cover while he plotted out his route across the compound. After a moment, he carefully repositioned the small bundle in his arms and stepped down the short ramp leading outside. _

_There were twenty yards between him and his goal. He moved quickly, constantly scanning about for something. It was as if he expected someone or thing to suddenly appear and attack him. _

_Beyond the barrier he was hurrying toward, there was darkness. A single, large structure rose before it, a deep red placard with foreign writing and a number eight painted on its side. There was something terribly foreboding about it._

_He surged ahead and paused only for a fraction of a second to cast a fleeting look behind him before ducking into small service room within the wall that encircled the area. Inside there was an extremely narrow tunnel going straight down and a rusty ladder to descend on. There was no way of telling how far down it went. _

_The man glanced down at his burden, worrying his lip. His eyes wandered to the hole for a moment before he returned them to the faintly shifting item he held. The barest trace of a smile tugged at his mouth as he began preparing to go down the shaft._

"_Don't worry, little angel. You'll be free soon. You won't become another him."_

Riku turned slightly, snuggling further into Cloud's warm body. The lingering bits of the dream hovered in his mind as he slowly awoke. While the vision had been intense and the man in it was clearly afraid, it had given Riku an oddly peaceful feeling.

Cloud sleepily pulled the younger man closer to him. It was their second full day on the Islands and they had spent the entirety of the first in bed. Riku knew that the blond would be more than happy to make today a repeat of yesterday but he really wanted to spend some time outside the resort. Maybe they could wander the boardwalk for a bit.

Grinning, Riku traced a finger down the center of Cloud's chest. "Morning, Sleepy."

Cloud shifted, chest muscles reacting to the light touch. He smiled faintly but did not open his eyes. "You're going to make me get out of bed today, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"Hmm…" The smile became a smirk. "You might be able to convince me."

Chuckling, Riku moved his body to half-lay atop Cloud's. He casually ran his finger up his lover's arm and shoulder, pausing at his neck. "And just how might I do that?"

In a deft movement, Cloud flipped Riku on his back onto the mattress. He switched their positions, now he leaned over the younger man and grinned. He dropped in for a kiss and Riku indulged him for a minute before breaking it off and batting at Cloud's arm.

"Come on," he prompted, ignoring the blond's noise of protest. "I want to go out."

"But we're on vacation…" Cloud protested, attempting to pull Riku close again. He ran a hand up the teen's thigh.

In a flare of annoyance, the silver-haired male shoved harshly at him. Once Cloud was clear of his body, he removed himself from the bed and stalked away. "I'm more than your sex toy, Cloud."

He crossed the room to his bags to find some clothes. He felt Cloud's stare but refused to look back at him. Why was he even with the other man? Cloud was unable to deal with reality until forced to, he completely depended on everyone around him to accomplish anything, he was weak-willed…

_No more than a Puppet waiting for someone to control his strings._

Riku froze in place. His sudden irritation with Cloud disappeared and he found himself shaking. He stood unsteadily, clutching a pair of pants in one hand. He still did not look at Cloud but now it was for a completely different reason.

In a quiet voice, he said, "I'm sorry."

He heard Cloud shift on the bed, likely sitting up. It did not sound like he was moving to stand up. After a long moment, the other spoke softly. "What's going on with you, Riku?"

Sighing heavily, Riku turned his head to the side. His lengthy bangs fell to conceal a majority of his face but the side of his mouth could be seen. "I don't know."

There was another oppressive silence. Riku knew Cloud wanted to say something, to do something but he held back. Whether this was because he did not know what he should or he was afraid of Riku's reaction was uncertain. At the moment, the teen was not sure that he cared.

"I'm going to take a shower," he announced and headed toward the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and tossed his change of clothes on the counter. Catching his reflection in the mirror, he stared at it for a brief moment before an intense anger rose up inside him.

He fought back the urge to destroy something and jerked his sight away from the mirror. Body tense and mind in turmoil, he went to the shower stall and set the water on the hottest setting. He gave it a minute and when steam began pouring out, he got in.

He let the scalding water run over his skin for a long time, hoping the pain of it was enough to dull the ache that was growing inside him.

--0—0—

When he finally left the shower, he felt a great deal calmer. He dried off and wrapped the oversized towel around his waist. Leaving the fresh clothes he had brought in behind, he entered the large room and immediately looked around.

Cloud was gone.

Closing his eyes, he breathed out slowly. He was not surprised that the blond had taken off but he was disappointed. He was uncertain, however, as to which of them he felt it more toward. He needed to get his emotions back in check but Cloud needed to learn to stay and face things.

He turned his head as he felt his lover's presence outside the hotel room door. Not even a moment later, it opened and the older man stepped in. He gave Riku a small smile as he crossed the room toward him.

Without saying a word, Riku quickly met him halfway and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. He buried his face into the space between his arm the side of Cloud's face. As his lover slipped his own arms around the younger one's waist, Riku muttered, "I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Cloud stated quietly, his right hand rubbing lightly along Riku's lower back. "We just need to figure out what's going on with you. I thought it was just stress but…"

Riku breathed out slowly. "I still think it is. We've only been here a day. Just give it a little more time, okay?"

He felt Cloud nod and was relieved by it. He really did not want to get into a serious discussion right now. What he needed was to get out around other people and keep his mind distracted for awhile. He noticed some time ago that he did better when his mind was occupied.

"Sora called while you were in the shower," said Cloud, not at all loosening his hold on Riku. "The signal's bad I here which is why I was in the hall."

"You don't have to explain."

"I know. Anyway, he said that his mother is insisting on us coming over for dinner tonight."

That… sounded really nice. Sora's house had always been his weekend home and his mom a second mother. While Riku's own parents had been good and he cared about them very much, they had worked a lot and there was not a strong connection between them. After his mother died, his father was never the same and Sora's home had become a kind of refuge for Riku.

"Okay," Riku easily agreed.

"If you're up to it, I thought we should go do some shopping on the boardwalk," Cloud suggested mildly. "Yuffie will throw a fit if we don't bring her something."

Riku did not at all like the almost timid way his lover said this but was unwilling to say so at the moment. He didn't want to potentially start another argument. He only nodded against Cloud's shoulder and attempted to move away so he could get dressed. When Cloud did not release him, he lifted his head and smirked. "I have to get dressed."

"I know."

Laughing lowly, he nipped at Cloud's ear. "You have to let me go to do that."

With a loud sigh of resignation, the blond loosened his hold and Riku pulled reluctantly from his embrace. He gave his older lover a soft smile then headed for the bathroom and his clothes. As he began to remove his towel, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

He studied his reflection a moment, leaning slightly forward. He looked less tired, the shadows around his eyes faded now. His coloring seemed better and some of the tension that he knew had been visible was gone. It gave him hope that the decreasing of the physical signs of his distress was a sign his emotional ones would soon leave as well.

Quickly dressing, he brushed out his hair and returned to the main room. Cloud had gone over to sit on the loveseat across the way and he smiled at Riku as he emerged. Returning the expression, Riku held out his hand, pulling the other up when he took it.

He gave Cloud a lingering kiss before moving toward the door with Cloud in tow. "When's the next ferry?"

"Fifteen minutes," replied the blond. They entered the hallway, the room door falling shut loudly behind them.

"Better hurry up then."

--0—0—

The ferry ride to the main island was completely uneventful. They hung around the back of the mid-sized vessel, standing close together and watching the wake created as they cut through the water. Something about the chaotic disruption settled and calmed Riku completely.

Shortly after boarding, Riku had called Sora to see if he wanted to meet up with them. Sora had said he had some things he had to do for Seiya but he'd try to meet up with them for lunch. That was fine by Riku because it gave him a couple of hours to wander alone with Cloud.

They left the ferry hand-in-hand, ignoring any of the looks they received as they walked down the dock. To the right lay the wharf and the left led to the boardwalk and the main shopping area of the Islands. As the couple turned left, Riku commented that there was a small stand on the wharf that had the best fried fish.

"We should go there for lunch then," Cloud stated casually. They were passing the first shop of the row, a display of bath and skin products created from sea-salts and minerals catching his eye.

"Sure, if Sora's up for it," Riku agreed. He noticed Cloud looking over the stand and nudged him. Subtly moving his head, he guided the blond away and whispered. "They'll rip you off. There's a better stand at the other end with a better selection. It's where I got Leon's birthday present."

"He really liked that set. We should get him more of that stuff."

The silver-haired one nodded. They continued on, pausing at a shell art display and then the wind chime stand. The boardwalk was definitely the touristy area, designed for the visitors from the other, smaller islands, and anytime they found something that they felt would make a good gift, Riku mentally noted it. Most of the stuff either he or Sora could find further inland for a lot cheaper.

They spent an hour strolling along the shops, stopping at certain ones and occasionally laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the things for sale. Riku never let go of Cloud's hand, keeping their fingers laced tightly together. He felt better than he had in weeks.

Near the end of the boardwalk, Sora called and said that he had an hour free. Riku told him to meet them at the wharf entrance and hung up. He gave Cloud a light smile as they turned around to head back in that direction.

Then he felt something brush his cheek.

He paused, casting his eyes about even though he knew he would not see anything. He was uncertain what it was exactly that had touched him but it was too concentrated to simply be the wind. Actually, while it felt like a physical contact he was somehow completely aware that it wasn't. It was as if his mind was playing a trick on him.

"Riku?"

The teen squeezed Cloud's hand and smiled again. "I'm fine, thought I felt something but it was nothing."

Cloud did not look convinced but he raised their joined hands and kissed Riku's knuckles. Riku then took over and pressed his lips to Cloud's knuckles. This was enough to make the moment pass and they continued on their way.

Upon reaching the transition area between boardwalk and wharf, Riku glanced around for his spiky-haired best friend. Though Sora wasn't very tall, that gravity defying hair of his always stood out. Even if that did not immediately identify him, Riku had a strange sixth-sense when it came to Sora.

He turned toward the bench next to the far piling and was surprised to see not only Sora but Kairi also. His two best friends sat beside one another, quietly talking. Kairi lightly swung her feet and gently bit her lower lip as she always did when slightly worried about something. Sora was sitting in his thinking position.

Riku knew they were talking about him.

Sora abruptly looked up and immediately smiled at the couple. He leapt to his feet, waving happily, which got Kairi's attention and she also smiled brightly and stood up. The two of them waited for Riku and Cloud to approach them.

"Hey, guys," the spiky-brunet greeted. "So I assume we're going to Walt's?"

"If you're up for it," Riku replied, glancing at Kairi. He was not sure why the girl was here or why he was irritated by her presence. He should have simply assumed Sora would have a tag-a-long and Kairi was their mutual best friend. "Hi, Kairi."

"Hi." She placed both her hands behind her and looked at him a bit shyly. "Sorry to just suddenly show up. Sora was on his way here when I called and I wanted to see you two also so I kinda invited myself."

"Its fine," Riku spoke easily, forcing away the unreasonable annoyance that he was feeling. "I half-expected it."

Sora laughed loudly. "Well we are the Three Amigos. That's never gonna change no matter where we live."

The older teen nodded. His mood had settled again and he squeezed Cloud's hand. "Come on, I'm getting hungry."

--0—0—

Lunch went smoothly, as did the rest of the afternoon. Cloud did not seem very fond of the fried fish but he nearly inhaled the potatoes that came with it. They spent a half-hour leaning at the rail opposite the stand, eating a chatting about nothing of importance.

Sora had to leave as soon as he finished but Kairi remained with Cloud and Riku. She offered to leave them but Riku asked her to stay, deciding that he really wanted someone else around…someone he knew would maintain a steady conversation. As much as he loved Cloud, the man was not much of a talker.

The three walked back down the boardwalk, Riku pointing out the various things that he and Cloud wanted to pick up to take home. Kairi knew exactly where to find most of it and promised to purchase the items for them that evening and they could pick them up on the way back from Sora's. When Cloud asked why she was not going to be at dinner also, she only grinned and said she had other plans.

Riku rolled his eyes, understanding what Kairi meant by that. Obviously, this dinner was being treated as a 'meeting the child's significant other' type thing. He had expected that and glancing at Cloud, he saw the man's jaw tighten slightly. Clearly he realized this also.

He felt eyes on him and flicked his own toward Kairi. She was studying him carefully and he immediately wanted to tell her to stop. It was getting really old having everyone looking at him like he was…

_Different. You've always been different, haven't you?_

Now Cloud was also looking over Riku. The teen had no idea what was bringing all of this on this time. The blond reached over and touched Riku's cheek with the back of his hand. "Are you all right?"

In annoyance, Riku angled his face away. "Why? Am I acting weird again?"

"No," his lover countered softly. "But you're really pale and sweating more than you should be for someone who's a native here."

"Why don't we take Cloud to the history museum?" Kairi suggested. "It'll be cooler in there and get us out of the sun for a bit."

The silver-haired teen brought his own hand up his forehead and felt the dampness. He frowned, wondering why he was sweating. He did not feel warm or in anyway physically ill… Was he getting heat stroke? He had not been away from his home for that long.

_This isn't and never was your home._

"Yeah, sure," Riku agreed, shoving the not-quite-whisper away.

As soon as they entered the one-story building that served as the Destiny Islands Historical Center, Riku wanted to leave. The place was packed with people, all of whom he swore were taking covert glances at him. The only good thing about being there was that the constant buzz of conversation filled his mind, keeping it occupied with filtering the various brief snippets he overheard.

He let Kairi give Cloud the tour, simply keeping quiet and holding onto the other man's hand. He did not pretend to not see the confused and all too often disgusted looks thrown at them. The Islands had always been a closed-off society; that had been one of the main reasons he had wanted to leave in the first place.

It did not matter what any of them thought. These pathetic souls were insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Actually, this entire world was. The only purpose this world ever served was to give birth to the Keyblade Master. Now that Kingdom Hearts was again safe, the Master was no longer needed. He was a useless as this world. He could die along with it-

"No!" Riku abruptly shouted. His entire body tensed as he ruthlessly shoved the thoughts away. He was horrified and disgusted by the things his mind had just suggested. It was not what he wanted, it could not possibly be.

"Riku," Cloud spoke his name softly, voice brimming with concern and more than a hint of fear. "What is it?"

Shaking his head slowly, he tightened his grip in Cloud's hand and brought his free one up and over to clutch the man's arm. "I need to get away from all these people."

Cloud did not say another word and flicked his gaze toward Kairi. The girl was watching Riku with worry but there was a peculiar, almost understanding look to her ink-colored eyes. She nodded once and as Cloud guided Riku out of the museum, she assured the few onlookers that everything was all right.

Outside, Cloud and Riku headed toward a small courtyard just beyond the front of the building. There was a bench there that was partially shaded by some squat palm trees which the younger half of the couple sat down upon. He leaned forward and dropped his head down into his upraised palms.

As soon as he was away from the mass of people, the thoughts faded but they did not go entirely away. He could still hear them, an indistinct murmur in the back of his mind. He still had no idea where any of it was coming from.

Riku was not a stranger to foreign whispers or outside beings attempting to influence his thoughts. When he had been selected by Xehanort's Heartless, it had been much like this. He began hearing his voice, guiding him, encouraging him to do whatever it took to be stronger but it was always originating from outside of him.

This voice, these thoughts, they were all _inside_ of him.

Feeling Kairi's approach, he lifted his head. Cloud was crouched down near his left knee and trying very hard not to bombard him with questions. Riku smiled half-heartedly at him, appreciating his lover's understanding of him more than ever. Cloud knew that if he pushed, Riku would just shut down on him.

Kairi hurried over to the pair, worrying her lower lip and tucking some stray hair behind her ear. She stopped before Riku and folded her arms across her narrow waist. "Are you better now?"

Riku took a shallow breath. "Better than I was, yeah."

"Well, don't get mad but Sora had a feeling something like this might happen," the young woman's brow furrowed. "He wasn't sure what exactly, but he just had this feeling…"

Cloud glanced between them, expression tight. "Has Sora been having any unusual episodes?"

"No," she moved her head from side to side. "However, as soon as he saw Riku when you arrived, he recognized something was wrong. He wanted to stay with you guys this afternoon but he promised Seiya he'd help her. That's why I decided to tag along. I told Sora I'd let him know if anything strange happened."

"Great," muttered Riku. "Everyone knows I'm losing my mind."

"You're not losing your mind," countered Cloud sternly. Bright blue eyes fixed themselves steadily on the silvered teen. "You're just stressed and that's probably bringing up some lingering effects from the darkness."

Was that it? It certainly made sense… Riku knew that he was always going to have to deal with the darkness that remained within him. He may have broken free from the dark realm but he still retained many of the powers he had developed while a part of it.

…And if that was the case, he knew that he could get past all of this. He had defeated the darkness before and he could do it again. He was just going to have to work his way through this until he was once again in complete control. He could do that.

Feeling much more hopeful than he had been, Riku managed a genuine smile. "That must be it. I honestly didn't really consider that option."

Kairi grinned and giggled. "Well, I think all three of us know who the best cure for that probably is."

"Sora," Riku and Cloud stated together.

"Yeah," the auburn-haired girl agreed. She gave Riku a quick look over. "You look a lot better than you did before we went in the museum."

"I feel fine."

"Okay, well how about this, let's get out of here and make our way toward Sora's," Kairi suggested. "There's still two hours before you're expected but we can take the long way and hit a few of the stores to pick up some of the things you want to get."

Riku looked to Cloud, who nodded. Right now, any kind of distraction was good. He still felt those dark fragments of thought hovering just beyond his awareness and he did not want them to return.

"Sound's like a plan." He stood and Cloud straightened out. Completely not caring if anyone saw, Riku kissed Cloud and slipped his arm around the blond's waist. He then held out his other arm invitingly toward Kairi.

She darted over and he draped his arm across her shoulders. With both of them right beside him, contentment filled his heart and that hopeful feeling grew. So long as he had the people he loved, he would get through anything.

"Let's go."


	5. Family Relations

Yes, yes, I know. I'm taking forever with this updates. Unfortunately for you all, school and the girlfriend come first.

Reminder, I no own.

* * *

Family Relations

"Okay, so we've taken care of just about everyone, right?" Kairi glanced over.

"I think so." Riku frowned thoughtfully. "You said you would pick up Leon's bath kit this evening and we're going to get Aerith's gift before we leave. That should be everyone."

"I hope so," Cloud grumbled softly. Somehow, he had become the group's pack mule. They had been shopping for over an hour and as the number of bags increased, they had all wound up in the blond's hands. Riku and Kairi would dart ahead whenever they came to a location they wanted to look in and impatiently wait for Cloud before going inside.

…And every time he wanted to open his mouth to protest, Riku would smile happily and the words would just disappear. He just could not bring himself to say anything that might ruin the young man's good mood. So, he kept his mouth shut and dealt with being the manual help.

Riku glanced over his shoulder, silver hair catching the bright sunlight. The look he gave him was still jovial but there was a hint of concern in his aqua eyes. "You all right?"

Cloud nodded. "I've gotten used to being the manual labor."

"You know you are infinitely more important than that."

"Yeah," the swordsman chuckled. "Leon says I'm a damn good punching bag, too."

"He does like to take his frustrations out on you," noted Riku. Beside him, Kairi giggled and he flicked his eyes over. "I'm serious! You're going to have to listen to the two of them sometime. I swear, you'd think they hate each other."

"Actually, that doesn't surprise me" The young woman grinned. "Leon is very… determined when it comes to the Restoration and anything that doesn't promote its immediate attention probably bothers the heck out of him."

"That about sums it up." Cloud shifted the bags in his right hand. "I think he yells at Zack almost as much as he does me and Zack works damn hard; he just tends to goof off as much as he works."

"I can't wait to meet him," said Kairi. "Between everything you've said and Aerith's letters, he sounds amazing."

_Traitor. _Riku shook his head, forcing the thought back. "He's great. Actually, he and Sora are a lot alike."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Those two are definitely in a class all their own."

"Yeah," Riku slowed a bit so that he could walk beside his lover. When he was within arm's length, he casually reached over and brushed his fingers along the man's jaw. He instantly felt better.

Kairi grinned a little at the display before superficially checking her watch. "Well, it should be about time for you two to head over to Sora's. It's early enough that you can take your time getting there and Riku can show off all of the little places he and Sora used to play."

The silver-haired male made a noise. "You know how long that would take, Kai? The whole island was our playground."

"Guess you better get started then," The auburn-haired female stated easily. They were coming up to a split in the road, both directions leading toward residential areas. "I'll stop by Sassy Girl for that set on my way home and bring it to you tomorrow."

"Great." They reached the split and Riku gave Kairi a tight hug. "Thanks, Kairi, for everything today."

She returned the embrace easily and whispered quietly, "You'll be fine, Riku. You have all the support and love a person can possibly have."

She pulled away and smiled at him before shifting it toward Cloud. "Have fun with Seiya, Cloud. Hopefully, Sora will be able to keep her from getting too crazy."

Cloud paled, his expression becoming uneasy. "Uh, yeah."

She giggled again and waved goodbye before turning and heading down the right path. As she walked away, Riku felt an odd urge to call her back. Suddenly, he had this completely unreasonable fear of being alone with Cloud.

"I'm guessing Sora lives in the opposite direction," Cloud stated. There was a bit of nervous humor in his voice. "Or else Kairi is letting me slowly panic without an audience."

Snorting, Riku turned to face the older man. He again reached up and brushed at Cloud's cheek. "Oh, don't panic. Seiya's great and I know she's going to love you."

"I'm not so much worried about her liking me as I am that she's going to bombard me with questions," countered the blond as the couple began walking the left fork in the road. "Though having her like me is a close second."

"Hey, you should be glad you only have to meet her." Riku focused on keeping his words light. "I can honestly say my parents would not have taken a real liking to you. They may have dealt with you in the end but…"

Cloud frowned, keeping his attention ahead of them. "I'm sure they would have given you hell about me."

"I wouldn't go that far. They definitely would have been more troubled by the age factor than the fact that your also a man," The nearly eighteen-year-old spoke slowly. "Mom would have likely needed a lot of convincing that you weren't some kind of predator and Dad would have been more concerned about if you were going to be able to support me properly."

"Right, so they would have hated me."

"Hate is a strong word." Riku glanced over with faint amusement. "I'd go with severely dislike."

"Uh huh," Cloud muttered flatly. "Probably would always be convinced that wasn't good enough for you."

_He _is _unworthy of you._

Riku shook his head of the voice. "No."

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter whether they would or not," Cloud stated casually though there was still a slightly troubled quality to the words.

"Yeah." The silvered male leaned over to press his shoulder to Cloud's. He focused on the contact as his mind tried to drift away. "I love you and so do all of the people who matter."

_None of them matter, the fools. They are the cause of your discord. Cast them away and free yourself-_

"Stop!"

Cloud came to a halt and stared at him. "What?"

Riku closed his eyes and breathed slowly, willing his suddenly rapid pulse to settle. That was the clearest he had heard that voice. It was definitely female and there was some kind of indescribable depth to it, like there was an ancient wisdom behind every word spoken.

"Riku?"

"Sorry," he quietly apologized. He scrambled for an excuse for his outburst but the moment he met Cloud's worried blue eyes, all thought of that left him. With a heavy step, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around the man's neck. "I think…"

Cloud immediately dropped the bags he carried and pulled Riku close. "What, Riku? Whatever it is, we'll fix it."

Cloud's certainty calmed him and he felt safe again in his arms. He was completely himself with no other unwanted sensations, just Cloud's embrace and love. Despite this, fear remained within him and he had the horrible feeling that these random bouts were only the beginning of something he could not attempt to guess at.

"Do you want to go back?" Cloud rubbed lightly at his back. "I'm sure Sora and his mom would understand if we didn't-"

"Oh, no." Riku managed a real smile and pulled away. "I'm fine now and I'll never hear the end of it if Seiya doesn't get her opportunity to thoroughly pick you apart."

Concern still highlighted Cloud's eyes but he returned the smile and nodded. He reluctantly released Riku and moved to retrieve the dropped bags. Riku reached over and took half of them from him, holding them in one hand so that he and Cloud could keep their free hands clasped.

Shooting his boyfriend another smile, he silently prompted him to begin walking again. As they did, he purposely focused his thoughts on the man beside him. Even though he had only been fifteen when they had met, he had somehow known even then that he and Cloud would forever be connected. Something bonded them that Riku could not possibly begin to explain and he found he really did not care to.

All that mattered to him was that he loved Cloud more than mere words could describe.

By the time they reached Sora's small, two-story house, both men had recovered from the earlier episode. They completely ignored the few people that they passed, or rather Riku did. He knew that he was probably coming off as being rude since it was highly likely that a majority of them would remember him but he was not going to risk slipping back into a foul mood because of his homeworld's ignorance about homosexuality.

Cloud's hand was warm and solid in his and his presence was literally wrapped around him like a blanket. He finally felt better than he had in a long time and hoped that just maybe this little vacation was starting to serve its purpose. Cloud's reaffirmation of his dedication had made him believe that he was really going to be okay and he was finally beginning to move past whatever this was that was affecting him.

They climbed the few steps to Sora's front stoop and Cloud visibly tensed. "You sure you want to do this?"

Riku chuckled and tugged the blond to him. Instead of using words, he simply kissed Cloud deeply. He squeezed his hand reassuringly as he did, yet again letting the man know that everything was going to be fine.

"Hey, now." Sora's voice carried through the screen door. "Don't let Mom see you doing that. You might break her brain."

"Oh, nonsense!" A loud female voice drifted from further in. "I want to see my boys happy! Now, Riku, get in here with that man of yours so I can meet him!"

Grinning, Riku opened the door and waved Cloud in. His lover pursed his lips briefly before stepping forward and inside the small house. Riku followed and nudged Cloud to move further in. "Come on, man of mine. Mommy's waiting."

Sora's laughter came from the right where he was sitting in the living room. When Cloud shot him a weak glare, he only laughed harder and stood up. "Get used to it, Cloud. Mom's pretty bossy and she's had both me and Ku trained for a long time."

Sora came and took the bags from the older man then Riku placed both hands on Cloud's shoulders and steered him down the hall. While he did not resist, Cloud clearly was in no hurry to reach their destination. He let Riku push him forward, not offering any help with the task.

They entered the small kitchen and Riku felt a wave of calmness sweep through him. There were so many memories associated with this house, particularly this room. Anytime he had a problem he could not go to his father with, he would end up in this kitchen, sitting at the little table with a large plate of food and talking about it with Seiya, sometimes until early morning. Sora would stay up also but more often than not, it would be just him and Seiya.

"Hello, baby!" He was assaulted by a petite woman with brown hair the exact color of her son's. She threw her arms around Riku's waist and managed to make him stagger. "I'm so glad you're here!"

Cloud had very quickly scrambled away when he caught sight of the female coming toward them from his peripheral vision. From approximately a foot away, he watched Sora's mother enthusiastically hug her surrogate son and smiled us Riku relaxed into it. He knew how much being here meant to the young man.

"Okay, Seiya, need to breathe." When Seiya released him, Riku smiled at her more brightly than he had at anyone in a long time. "I'm glad to be here, too."

Seiya beamed, patting his cheek once before abruptly turning toward Cloud. He visibly tensed as her blue eyes scrutinized him. "And you must be the _amazing_ guy who's completely captured Riku's heart."

Cloud actually blushed at her statement. "I guess I am."

She giggled at the way he said the words and stepped over to give him a brief hug. "Oh, don't worry! The thorough dissecting of your character will be later. For now, both of you sit down at the table. Dinner will be done in a few minutes."

Turning back around, Seiya moved to return to the cooking area. As she passed Riku, she leaned over and whispered loudly, "All of you are right, he _is_ gorgeous!"

Riku grinned and flicked his eyes toward his lover. He did not think Cloud could look any more embarrassed. "Yeah, he is."

"All right, go sit." The woman commanded, heading for the stove. "Sora!"

"I'm here already!" The spiky brunet shouted from the table. "You would have noticed if you weren't gushing on about Riku and Cloud."

"Oh, that wasn't gushing and you know it," Seiya retorted easily. "Now get everyone's drinks."

Sora rolled his eyes in an amused manner and got up as Riku and Cloud sat. "The usual, Ku?"

"Yeah," the older teen replied. He slid into the seat beside Cloud, placing himself between him and where Seiya would be. He figured he should at least attempt to keep Seiya from stressing Cloud out too bad on their first meeting. "What are we eating?"

"Shrimp and scallop ceviche." Seiya informed him, moving the food within a frying pan with a spatula. "Your favorite."

"Ooh," breathed Riku. "Remind me again why I left the Islands?"

"Because as much as you love us and fresh seafood, you were unhappy here." Sora said the words easily as he poured out four glasses of water. In the bottom of each glass were several slices of fruit. "And personally, I can't see Cloud living here at all. The whole tropics thing just doesn't fit."

"Well I did grow up in a small mountain village."

"Oh, I'm sure he would adjust to Island life if he had to." Seiya chuckled. She was plating the food now.

"I'm sure I could." Cloud agreed, reaching over to squeeze Riku's thigh beneath the table. Blue eyes glanced over to meet aqua and the couple exchanged a brief smile.

"Okay, okay, enough of that sappy stuff." Sora placed drinks before Riku an Cloud.

Riku narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Why does any sign of affection between me and Cloud seem to bother you so much?"

"It doesn't _bother_ me," countered Sora. He turned away to retrieve his and his mother's drinks. "I'm just teasing."

"Well I wish you'd stop it," muttered the older teen. "It's starting to really piss me off."

"Um…okay." Sora flicked his gaze back for a moment. "Sorry."

Riku huffed a breath and focused on the glass before him. Sora could be so difficult and obnoxious. He sometimes wondered why they had remained best friends for so long. When one boiled it down, they had almost nothing in common and it was not like the small brunet had anything to offer him. Even if he was the Keyblade Master, Riku's own power would soon develop into something far greater-

"Here we go!" Seiya carefully balanced four plates on her short arms. As she placed them at the various settings, Sora returned, sliding into his seat and putting down the last two glasses.

"This smells so good, Seiya." Riku picked up his fork to begin eating as Seiya sat. "It's really nice to have a good, homemade meal that I didn't make."

Seiya smiled, flicking her eyes toward Cloud. "You aren't very good in the kitchen, huh?"

"Cloud isn't very good with anything domestic." Riku stated simply. He brought a mouthful of food to his mouth. "

"Ouch." Sora chuckled.

"I never claimed to be any good with that stuff," muttered Cloud with a faint frown. "In fact, I think everyone who knows me warned you before we started living together that running the house was going to be your job."

Riku ignored this as he took his first bite and chewed. After swallowing, he nodded toward his surrogate mother. "This is amazing."

"Thank you, baby," Seiya replied. She was giving him a considering look that he did not like. It was gone after a moment and dinner continued.

Seiya maintained casual conversation as the four ate, most of it directed at Cloud. She asked the man several questions about his childhood and family, which he answered neutrally. Thankfully, she seemed to know when she was touching on a subject he was uncomfortable with and would change her line of query.

Riku felt Sora's attention on him throughout dinner and he slowly grew agitated. A strange mix of annoyance and paranoia worked through him and by the time they were finished eating and Seiya got up to clear the table for dessert, he wanted nothing more to get out of there.

Why was Sora watching him? He was not having one of his episodes he had been experiencing. He felt completely fine, totally himself, since coming to the house. There was no reason for Sora's apparent fixation.

"Riku?"

He blinked and glanced at Seiya. "Yeah?"

"I asked if you wanted papaya or mango."

"Actually," Riku stood. "I don't really want any dessert. I filled up on the ceviche."

"You sure?" Seiya had a worried frown on her face and he felt bad for causing it.

"Yeah, maybe in a few minutes." Riku idly brushed his fingers along Cloud's neck and turned. "I'm going to go out back for a few minutes."

Cloud gave him a questioning look to which he smiled reassuringly. He bent enough to kiss the man's temple before slipping out the backdoor. He paused on the flat concrete of the small patio and turned his face up, closing his eyes and taking a long breath. This was getting ridiculous.

He heard the glass door slide again and sighed. He should have known… "I really don't feel like talking, Sora."

"Well I do." The younger male countered softly. He walked over to stand beside his oldest friend. "Look, Ku, I'm starting to think there's more going on here than you being stressed out."

"It's gotten better."

"Then I'd hate to know what you were like on Radiant Garden."

Riku shot a hard look at Sora. "What?"

"Since you got here, you've been… off. I don't know how else to describe it." Sora shook his head, biting his lower lip in thought. "And I'm not the only one who's noticed. Tidus, Wakka and Selphie noticed it, too.

"But it isn't just that. You get distracted and…" Sora blew out a breath and met Riku's eyes directly. "You've been hearing voices, haven't you?"

Riku automatically wanted to deny it. He wanted to brush off Sora's concern but he knew that would just trouble the spiky brunet further. Sora would know if he flat out lied to him. "I'm not hearing voices, Sora. Yeah, I have been distracted and there are times I can't really focus on what's happening but that's been improving."

"Kairi told me what happened this afternoon."

Riku scowled but he was not surprised. Kairi had said that Sora was the reason she had tagged along with him and Cloud all day. "It was just a minor episode probably brought on by the darkness still in me."

"Do you really think it's just that?"

"What the hell else could it be, Sora?" Riku snapped harshly. "It's either that or I'm going completely insane! Which would you rather it be because I'll tell you right now I'm scared as hell about what's going on in my head but if it is just the darkness I know I can eventually control it!"

Closing his eyes, Riku took a long breath. He had not meant to go off on Sora but now that he had, he felt oddly better. Even though he had partially broken down with Cloud earlier, it was not like this had been. This was the very first time he had really acknowledged what he was feeling and it brought a measure of freedom with it.

Sora was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "What can I do to help you, Riku?"

Riku smiled sadly at the closest thing he had to a brother. "I don't know."

"Well," Sora frowned. "Will you let me know when you do?"

Riku let out a single bark of laughter. "Yeah, you'll be the first to know."

"Eh, I'm okay with second," said Sora, giving Riku a little smile. "I think Cloud's the one who needs to be first."

Hearing the blond's name caused an odd stirring in Riku's chest. It was not the usual mix of love and affection or even the annoyance or frustration he sometimes got with him. This almost felt like a deep rooted hatred… "Yeah, considering we live together."

Sora grinned. "He loves you way more than I think anyone can put words to. I know that he'll do everything he can to help you get through this."

"He already is," assured the silvered teen. With a light air, he threw an arm around Sora's narrow shoulders and steered him toward the sliding glass door. "I think I'm up for dessert now."

"You and Cloud can't use my room."

Riku stopped and stared at Sora with exaggerated shock. "I cannot believe that you think that little of us."

Sora lifted an eyebrow and smirked at him.

In a casual tone, the older male stated. "You're bed's much too small for us."

Sora snorted and chuckling, they re-entered the house.

Cloud and Seiya both looked up as they came in and it was obvious they had been having a serious discussion while the teenagers were outside. Cloud immediately schooled his features, warmth filling his eyes. It took Seiya a bit longer but she smiled brightly and stood back up. "Ready for some sorbet cookie tulips?"

Riku hugged her as they met halfway. "Only if I'm allowed one of each kind."

Laughing, Seiya patted his cheek. "Of course, Riku."

She moved for the kitchen and Riku continued to the table and Cloud. Standing beside him, Riku reached over and trailed his fingers along one of the long spikes that framed his face. He saw the man's silent question and he nodded minutely. This was enough for Cloud and when Riku finally sat, he leaned in and kissed him lightly.

The rest of the evening was peaceful and relaxed. After finishing dessert, they all went outside and took spots around the small patio, Riku practically sitting in Cloud's lap on the short bench opposite the four-person patio table. Sora sat upon the table itself and Seiya took up one of the chairs.

Conversation was easy and often times teasing as Sora and Seiya would tell random stories about Riku as a child. Occasionally, Cloud would offer some small piece from his own youth. By the time the sun was low in the sky and everything was cast in reds, golds and shadow, all sign of earlier trouble was gone.

Riku leaned against Cloud, happy to be with the people he loved most, his family. There were no strange thoughts, no random flares of emotion, only contentment. He truly hoped that this meant he was truly recovering from the troubles he had been having.

Weariness was beginning to blanket him and he involuntarily yawned into Cloud's chest. It had been a long, trying day but he did not want to leave yet. However, all three of the others caught his action and decided that it was time for the couple to leave.

Reluctantly moving for Cloud to stand, Riku let his lover stand him up with a tug of his arm. Sora went back inside first and Seiya shooed Riku and Cloud after him. As Sora went to get their shopping bags from earlier, Seiya began fussing.

"Do you two want some food or anything to take back to the hotel? I'm sure what they have there is excellent but it probably gets expensive."

"We're fine, Seiya." Riku assured her. "When Kairi got us the room, it included all the food and drink we could possibly want. They're taking good care of us there."

"Alright." She worried her lower lip, exactly like Sora did when he was unhappily accepting something. "Well, I know you two only have one more full day here and you probably have a lot of things you still want to do…"

"Actually," Riku glanced at Cloud who nodded slightly. "We don't really have anything planned for tomorrow so if you and the others want to arrange something, that would be fine."

"Really?" She brightened. "How about a trip to the beach? I can bring some things to grill and we could invite everyone."

"Sure," Cloud replied for both of them. "What's a trip to a tropical island without at least one visit to the beach?"

Riku chuckled and reaching back over his shoulder, caressed Cloud's cheek. "Zack would never forgive you if he found out you didn't go."

"He's obsessed with beaches."

"Well, next time you'll just have to bring him and Aerith along." Seiya patted the sides of Riku's cheeks. "All right, you better get going if you're going to catch the next ferry. I'll talk to everyone and make arrangements for tomorrow. Sora will call you with the details."

"Sounds good," confirmed Riku. He heard Sora in the hallway struggling with the bags. "I guess we better rescue Sora, huh?"

"Naw, don't worry about me," the brunet called out. "I totally have this- darn it!"

Lips curled up in amusement, Riku gave Seiya a tight hug. When he stepped back, he nudged Cloud. "Let's get out of here."

--0—0—

They reached the dock with fifteen minutes to spare. While waiting for the ferry, Riku bought a bag of salt water taffy from a boy selling it. The child thanked him several times and ran off. He watched after him for a moment before returning to Cloud.

"I know that kid's older sister," explained the silver-haired young man. "Their parent's never came back after the Heartless and they had to live with an aunt for awhile. She was pretty cruel to them so they ended up running away. Last I heard, they were renting a room above one of the fishing houses."

Cloud nodded. "We saw a lot of that kind of thing after Midgar's destruction."

"I bet." Riku dropped the taffies into one of the shopping bags. "I'm thankful that I got my dad back after, even if it was only for a little while. He may have been distant but at least he was there."

The ferry began boarding and the couple lugged their sacks up the ramp and found seats on the lower level near the back. In the relatively secluded spot, Riku was able to hold onto the blond's hand and rest against his body. That peace had not left him and what he wanted most right now was to get into bed, feel Cloud's arms wrapped around him and sleep.

He dozed off and was awoken a while later by Cloud gently nudging him. The ferry was about to dock at the resort. He smiled and blinked his sleepy aqua eyes. "I've been drifting off a lot on you lately."

"It's alright." His lover squeezed his hand. "We really haven't been sleeping much and when you do, it's usually rather fitful."

That was interesting. "At least I haven't had any nightmares."

"Yes," agreed Cloud. He snuck a kiss to the corner of Riku's mouth. "We'll get some good sleep tonight."

"Kay."

Cloud gathered the bags and smiled down at Riku as he stood. "Come on."

Riku followed him off the transport boat and down the short walk to the hotel. Cloud walked slowly to allow Riku to keep up with him and the teen idly wondered why he was suddenly so exhausted. The day had not been that strenuous; perhaps it was just all the emotion and activity on top of the poor sleep he had been getting.

They reached their room and Riku smiled weakly as he slipped his hand into Cloud's back pocket to retrieve the key from it. He teasingly pinched his boyfriend's ass before gripping the thin plastic and removing it to unlock the door. Cloud gave him a look while waiting for Riku to open the door and chuckled as he passed him into the room.

The couple put the bags in a corner to deal with later and wordlessly got ready for bed. Despite how tired he was, Riku flat out refused to go to sleep without brushing his teeth. It was one of his many little quirks and though it annoyed Cloud sometimes, especially when it interfered with after-sex cuddle time, he never argued with Riku about it.

As Riku took care of business, Cloud turned down the bed covers. When the younger male returned from the bathroom, he crossed the room and draped his arms over his shoulders. "Good day?"

"Absolutely." Blue eyes shined with sincerity. He brushed at Riku's bangs with one hand. "You finally look truly relaxed."

"I feel relaxed."

"Good."

Riku yawned. "And really sleepy."

"Well we can take care of that." Cloud pulled away and began removing Riku's clothing. There was nothing suggestive about it and when he had him stripped down to his boxers, he started on his own clothes. Once they were both unclothed, he took Riku's hand and pulled him to bed.

Riku climbed in, scooting over so that Cloud could follow him in. He gave Cloud a minute to get settled then snuggled up beside him. Cloud's arms were wrapped around him in a warm embrace and he turned his face up to smile at him. "I love you."

Cloud smoothed his hair. "I love you."

Riku closed his eyes and breathed out contently. Warmth and comfort filled him as he drifted to sleep. Things were finally beginning to really get better.

He felt a feather-light touch brush along his cheek and smiled as he nodded off.


	6. Beachside Longing

Hey all. I know I'm slacking on these updates (on everything) but I'm working on them. This chapter is a little shorter than I expected but that's how it goes sometimes. Hopefully it won't be too long till the next one.

Please review, it helps. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Beach-side Longing

There were no dreams that night. When Riku awoke, he could tell by how bright the room was that it was at least noon. Smiling, he languidly stretched in bed. This was the first night in far too many where he had not awakened for anything and the first morning in that many were he felt completely rested.

As he partially turned, Cloud quietly murmured, "Morning."

Cracking an eye open, Riku saw his lover was sitting up in bed with a paperback book before him. Apparently, he had been up for awhile now. "What time is it?"

"Um…" Cloud leaned over and checked his phone laying on the nightstand. "12:46."

Making a faint noise, Riku fully faced Cloud. The blond set his book to the side and shifted so that Riku could settle comfortably against him. "I think this is the latest I've slept in my entire life."

"Seriously?" The older man began toying with Riku's lengthy silver locks.

"Yeah. My parents kept me on a pretty set sleep schedule. Even on weekends I only got to sleep in for two hours."

"What about when you were sick?"

"I was an amazingly healthy child." Riku closed his eyes, enjoying the casual attention he was receiving. "Mom used to joke that I must have alien DNA in me because I never caught any of the colds or flues or whatever that went around."

"Well, you definitely missed out if you've never slept in simply because. It's easily one of the greatest things in life and I sorely miss it."

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, I'm thinking we need to do it more often."

"Good luck convincing Leon."

"Meh, we just need to find him a girlfriend."

They fell silent, Cloud continuing to play with Riku's hair. The teenager sighed in contentment, feeling the peace within and without of him. It had been so long since he had felt this good.

Several minutes passed before Cloud's stomach rumbled. The couple laughed softly but made no movement to change their current arrangement. Cloud's stomach was just going to have to wait until they were ready to feed it.

When it rumbled again, Riku reluctantly twisted away. "I guess we need to feed you."

"I don't really need food." Cloud protested, reaching out to keep Riku from leaving bed. "I can go three days without eating."

"That's not good for you, Mako or not." The younger male allowed himself to be pulled back against Cloud. "I can go long periods without eating, too, but Mom and Seiya got pissed if I did. I learned very fast to make sure I eat at least twice a day whether I want to or not."

"Tifa likes to threaten me with a Dolphin Kick to the stomach if she finds out I haven't been." Cloud wrapped his arms around Riku's waist. The teen was now laying half on top of him.

"Ouch." Riku lightly rested his chin on Cloud's chest. "You know, we could just order room service."

Blue eyes cast downward and there was a brief flash of uncertainty before a much more amorous look filled them. "Now there's an idea."

Riku stretched up and brought his face close to the older man's. "I thought you might like it. Don't have to get out of bed…"

"Definitely." Fingers began tracing up along Riku's spine.

Smiling, Riku pressed his lips to his lover's. He did not try to deepen it, keeping it simple but passionate, pouring as much love into as he could. All he wanted was this easy, casual time with the man he loved.

Riku's phone rang out the annoying ringtone Sora had chosen for himself on the phone of everyone he knew. Cloud, Leon, Cid and Tifa had all changed it the day after he left from his last visit but Riku had not been able to bring himself to. While he found it just as irritating as the others, Sora had picked it out and he would honor his best friend's choice.

Cloud winced a little at the noise and Riku reluctantly drew away. "I hate that damn song."

"I know you do." Riku left the bed and crossed the room to the desk where he had his phone charging. The tone had only played once which meant it was a text and not an actual call. Flipping the phone open, he read the message then relayed the information to Cloud. "Sora says to meet up with them in an hour."

The blond leaned forward and rolled his shoulders. "Did he say who all was going to be there?"

"Nope," replied Riku. Setting his phone back on the desk, he turned toward the bed. "So you have a choice: food or shower?"

Worrying his lower lip, Cloud slipped out of bed and walked in Riku's direction. There was no mistaking the lust in his eyes. "That's a tough one."

"I can make it easier for you." The younger male took the few steps necessary to meet his boyfriend halfway. He draped his arms over Cloud's shoulders and nuzzled into his neck. "The beach has this area with picnic tables and grills… We usually set up camp near them." Riku nibbled on Cloud's earlobe. "And Seiya never goes to the beach without stopping at the fish market first."

Cloud placed his hands low on the back of Riku's hips, pulling him closer. They were both still naked and as they pressed together, a shot of arousal went through him. Riku shuddered slightly and they both were getting hard. "I liked her food."

"Mm hmm." Riku muttered, fingers toying with the short spikes of hair on the back of Cloud's head.

Blue eyes became slightly hazy. "How long do we have?"

Grinning, Riku walked backwards toward the bathroom, Cloud matching his steps. Cloud's hands did not move from their position nor did Riku's. They stumbled once in the doorway but did not separate.

Inside the small room, Riku pressed Cloud against the counter. He brought his lips to his lover's, sliding his hands down the man's neck. Bodies together, he rolled his hips lightly into Cloud's, smiling at the moan he caused.

Abruptly, he broke away and turned to start the shower. "We have an hour and we aren't wasting a minute more of it."

--0—0—

It was another gorgeous day on the Islands. A light breeze blew across the water as the early afternoon sun shone down, giving the ocean surface a sparkle broken only by the white-capped waves. Occasionally a few dolphins could be seen coming up for air.

Upon leaving the ferry, Riku lead Cloud to the far end of the boardwalk. The strip was full of people either shopping, heading to work, or going to the beach. The natives knew when to take advantage of the weather and storm season was quickly approaching.

"Where are we meeting them?" Cloud's eyes scanned the thickening crowd. As they got closer to the beaches, the number of people significantly increased.

"We're going all the way down to Crescent Beach." Riku shifted closer as a small group of children came barreling past. "It's the beach we always go to because there tends to be less people. The visitors are usually too lazy to come out past the first couple of sections."

Cloud nodded. "Good."

Aqua eyes flicked over with a light smirk. "You just want to be able to molest me on the beach."

Chuckling quietly, Cloud leaned to bump his shoulder against Riku's. "Zack would never let me live it down if he found out I didn't."

"Who found out you didn't what?" Selphie's voice sounded from behind them.

"You don't want to know." Riku looked over his shoulder. "Where's the rest of your trio?"

Selphie came up to Riku's free side. "Wakka should be with the others already and Tidus had a phone interview with some big shot Blitzball scout so he'll be along after."

The silver-haired teen frowned. "I thought he got that scholarship for Besaid next year?"

"He did. This is about doing a summer tour." Selphie explained easily. She then fixed her attention on Cloud. "So am I gonna see some action on the beach today?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know exactly what I mean!" The brunette girl grinned wickedly. "I have my camera all ready to catch any molestation of Riku you chose to do."

Mako-enhanced blue eyes sparkled with uncommon amusement. "Well that sucks. Here I was all prepared to break every public decency law but I don't perform for cameras."

"Damn it, Selph." Riku cursed with a laugh. "Way to ruin my dream of getting laid on the beach."

"Here!" Selphie rummaged through her bag and quickly handed over her camera. "Break it or do whatever you want to it! At least I'll have the memories to savor."

"Keep your camera, Selphie." Cloud wrapped his arm briefly around Riku's shoulders. "You'll get at least a few photo ops."

Selphie giggled. "Just be yourselves; all I really want is to see Riku happy and I noticed when you arrived that he only seemed to really smile when he was interacting with you."

Riku glanced at her before fixing his attention on the wooden planks they walked upon. He felt bad that he had been reserved with his friends since coming here. Normally, Sora was able to brighten his mood simply by being nearby but that was not working on this trip. He hoped that after his minor breakdown yesterday, things would be more normal between himself and everyone else.

"Oh! There's Kairi!" Selphie exclaimed, jumping up and waving. "Kairi!"

The auburn-haired young woman turned her head and quickly spotted the trio coming toward her. Her eyes brightened and she smiled as she waited for them to reach her. She joined with the group as they passed, Cloud automatically falling back a bit to let her walk beside Riku.

Riku noticed this and pouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting out of the way so you can talk with your friends," Cloud replied simply.

Aqua eyes rolled upward in exasperation. He reached behind and pulled Cloud back up with him. The two girls chuckled at the action and even Cloud half-smiled. Once he was returned to his proper place, Riku grumbled mildly, "It's bad enough that we can't touch too much; I can at least be close to you."

"Aww," Selphie gushed.

Riku glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "Yeah, yeah; I know. I've become a total sap."

"I think it's sweet," Kairi declared easily. "Both of you are very different with each other. It's like the only time the worlds see the real Riku and Cloud is when they're together."

Riku was uncertain how to take that observation. It had to be at least partially true because he certainly felt more comfortable, less like he needed to live up to anyone else's standards or ideas, when he was with him. Similar statements had been made by Zack and Tifa about Cloud before. While he couldn't speak for Cloud, Riku had the strong impression that he felt something akin to what he did.

"So, you been to the beach before, Cloud?" Selphie asked loudly.

"Yes, I've been to a beach before," Cloud said with a bit of irritation. "We did have those back home. I went to Costa del Sol several times."

Riku added on, "Zack adores the beach."

"I have to meet this guy." Kairi grinned.

"You will." Riku assured her. The four were approaching the path to Crescent Beach and there was nearly no one else present. "Next time we come, we'll bring Zack and Aerith with."

"Good." Selphie surged ahead, dragging Kairi with her. "I'm gonna go find everyone. Come on, Kai."

"That girl and Yuffie can never meet." Cloud murmured as they turned down the pathway. The route to the beach was lined by tropical plants and sand covered wood slates lead the way through.

Riku laughed as he laced his fingers with Cloud's and squeezed. There was no one else around. "Yeah, that just screams bad idea."

"Mm hmm." Cloud stopped walking and turned toward his lover. Stepping closer, he leaned in and brushed his lips against Riku's. "Think she's just ahead and hoping to ambush us with that camera?"

"Oh, I know she is," whispered the silvered male. Their mouth's remained barely a breath apart. "We always camp in the same spot."

"Should we indulge her?"

Chuckling, Riku placed a quick kiss on Cloud. "Let's just be ourselves and ignore the damn camera. I'll get Kairi to snatch it from her later."

--0—0—

Riku dropped down on one of the towels, shaking his dripping hair. It was early evening and they had been in the water for the past hour and a half playing their modified version of blitzball. Cloud had taken to the game incredibly well and teamed up with Tidus to create their own special techniques. Riku had a feeling that some of those techniques were going to be added to his blond friend's collection.

For the most part, the beach had been fairly empty like they had expected. There were some other small groups of natives, many who knew at least one of the teenagers, who had greeted them and then gone off to do whatever they were there for. Some of the other teens had ended up joining them for lunch and did not seem to care about how close Riku and Cloud were.

Riku didn't know if they had any clue that they were lovers and played it safe while they were there. After they had left, Selphie had assured him that they were cool and there wouldn't be any issues coming from them later. The brunette girl had to have taken at least a dozen pictures of them.

Seiya handed him a cool bottle of water. "Cloud seems to be enjoying himself."

"Yeah," agreed Riku, watching his boyfriend intercept the pass Sora made to Wakka. "I think he's using the opportunity to make up for the fact that he didn't do much of the teenager stuff when he was a teen."

"It doesn't matter why he does it." Seiya went back to check on the lobster boil she was making for dinner. "It's healthy for everyone to just cut loose and have fun once in awhile."

"I know. I worry about him sometimes." The eighteen-year-old leaned back on a hand. "Of course then he worries about me and it becomes a nasty circle but I guess that's just us. Thankfully we support each other more than we bring each other down so I guess it's balanced out."

"You make each other happy and that's all that matters." Seiya declared easily.

"Yeah." The silver-haired teen shifted his attention to the open ocean. The waves rolled gently, breaking into thin white-caps and occasionally a dolphin could be seen coming up for air. The palms rustled when the breeze kicked up and the seagulls could be heard from where they gathered on the other beaches to take advantage of the visitors.

Far out, marring the otherwise perfect horizon was the play island. Riku found himself staring at it and that strange whisper he had heard the day he and Cloud arrived came back to him. What had that been about? While Riku was not a stranger to hearing voices (he felt like some kind of mental patient thinking about how many times he had heard them), that one had been new and there had been such a longing to it.

Wherever that voice came from, it wanted him to find something on the play island. As he thought about it, that tugging in his heart to go investigate returned. He felt a need to go out there and look around, to find the source of those words and that need settled within him. He had experienced something like this before and it had ended horribly but this time… something was different.

Somehow, he knew there were answers there to questions he did not even know yet.

Riku raised his knees up and draped his arms on his kneecaps. He held the bottle before him and stared at it for a few moments. "Hey, Seiya?"

"What, baby?"

"Do you…" He paused, uncertain what he wanted to ask. "Have you ever had this feeling that you need to do something but have no idea why or what for?"

"I can't say that I have," answered Seiya after a moment. She placed the lid back on the pot and came over to sit beside him. Her position mirrored his. "But I do believe in intuition and instinct. If your heart is telling you to do something, you should probably do it."

Riku flicked his aqua eyes toward the end of the towel he sat upon. "What if it's something else? What if… you don't know what it is but _something_ wants you to do something?"

He felt Seiya's eyes on him and waited. He had no idea how she was going to react to his questions. She probably was not the one to be asking these things but there was no one else he trusted to give him a real answer. Both Sora and Cloud would likely start worrying that Xehanort was trying to get to him again. The one thing he knew for sure that none of this had anything to do with Xehanort's Heartless.

Seiya's voice was quiet but certain. "Do what your heart dictates. If your heart agrees, then you should be okay."

Now Riku understood exactly where Sora got his beliefs from. Sora was always saying that Riku needed to just listen to his heart more often and to trust it. The younger boy had been extremely proud of Riku when he had decided that he wanted to live with Cloud without needed to be pushed by anyone else to make the decision.

However, while Riku knew the heart was a good way to measure things, there was more involved. The mind played a part in everything, too, and that was what was concerning Riku. Even if his heart was strong like everyone told him, his mind tended to be weak. It was the mind that made decisions and the mind had to have some kind of influence on the heart. He couldn't be certain that he was not misreading-

A hand rubbed at his back and he turned to see Seiya smiling at him. "Your conscious comes from your heart, Riku; the two work together. Don't think so much and do what you feel is right. Even if it's the wrong choice, we're all going to be here."

Feeling a smile pull at his lips, Riku nodded. "I know that."

"Good." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "I worry about you, baby."

The smile disappeared and the young man's mood darkened. "I know. I'm sorry that I worry all of you."

"Just promise to keep talking about anything troubling you. You have always kept your feelings and thoughts to yourself and we never knew what you were going through. It's gotten so much better since you came back from your journey and since you got together with Cloud; you have changed so much. We all know you still have things you need to deal with, just remember that we're all here with you."

Riku nodded.

"Hey, Ku!" Sora called from the water. "Get your butt back out here and help me defeat your boyfriend! He, Kairi and Tidus are kicking me, Selphie and Wakka's asses."

"Looks like your needed," Seiya said with a laugh. "You have about an hour before the boil is done."

--0—0—

"_I don't know where we are, little angel, but this is your home now… That is if I can find a way to get off this island. It looks like the one in the distance has people on it. I'll get you there and we'll find a nice family to take you in. I don't think I'm going to last much longer."_

Cloud snored lightly, laying flat on his back. Riku was still in his arms, exactly as he had been when they had fallen asleep. He had awoken to those words echoing in his head like some kind of memory. The voice of the man speaking was the exact same at the one in the dream a couple of nights ago.

And it was the same as the one that had beckoned him to go back to the play island.

Riku repositioned his head so that he could better take in Cloud's sleeping face. He loved watching his lover sleep; there was this incredible peace that came to his expression. It was like all of the weight, past and present, left the older man when he slept.

Carefully moving, Riku scooted up and placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping man's lips. Cloud did not wake up but a faint smile curled his mouth and he settled a bit upon the mattress. Riku then slipped out of his arms and left the bed.

He crossed the room and found some clothes to throw on. Once that was accomplished, he pulled on his shoes and straightened out. He faced the bed and waited a minute. After he was certain that Cloud would not be waking up, he headed for the door.

It was time for him to find out what that dream voice wanted.


	7. Discovery and Reconnection

Some questions answered, many more revealed. Thank you for reading.

* * *

Discovery and Reconnection

Riku left the rowboat in the surf of the shoreline, knowing that when the tide went out in about an hour, there would be about a foot of sand between it and the water. He did not want to drag it too far across the wet sand and had no idea how long this was going to take. He doubted that it would be long enough for the wet sand to dry out in the rising sun and heat of the coming day.

As he walked up the beach, he glanced around. The play island had two distinct sides and it was difficult to get from one side to the other on land. Sensing that he would not find anything on the side where they had spent their childhoods playing, they had thoroughly explored everything there, he had journeyed to the far side. He and Sora had come out here only once and decided that there was nothing of interest. This side was almost all trees and overgrown vegetation.

Riku paused at the start of the jungle growth. The sheer side of the rocky mountain that took up the bulk of the little island was in front and to the left of him. While he wasn't overly concerned with getting lost, he needed some kind of strategy…especially since he had no idea what he was looking for. A good plan seemed to be to hug the mountain and then start fanning out from it in a sweeping movement.

He stepped into the foliage and pressed slowly ahead. He kept his eyes scanning everything around him, waiting for something to catch his attention. He had to watch his footing on the uneven ground and avoid the spots that likely housed snakes and various other animals.

After nearly an hour, he figured he had to be getting close to the other side. The sky was brightening and the density of the plant life was lessening. Nothing claimed his attention and he wondered just what exactly he was doing. It really made no sense for him to be out here, following some random voice. Especially after what had happened the last time he had done it.

He stopped and closed his eyes. _I really need some therapy._

This was ridiculous and he decided it was ludicrous to be wandering around out here. Opening his eyes, he turned back the way he came. This was a waste of time and he was potentially risking his life in the process. There were poisonous creatures living here and this was their favorite time of day to-

_Look out!_

He jumped to the side and barely avoided stepping into a snake nest that he had walked around the first time he came across it. Cursing at himself for getting distracted, he forced himself to focus again on his surroundings. He was now going to have to go out several feet from his rock guide to get past a large, felled and rotting tree trunk.

Taking several steps, he narrowed his eyes at the far end of the trunk's length. It was laying upon something large that was covered in vines and moss, lifting it a good four feet up. At first glance it appeared to be a giant rock but then the rising sun caught on it and there was an odd glint.

Was that metal?

Riku slowly got closer, something building inside of him. This had to be what he was looking for. This was the source of the pulling, the voice that was calling him here.

A foot away from the mass, it began taking the shape of an engine casing. He walked past, frowning in thought. The engine gave way to a collapsed hull. The ground beneath his feet changed and upon kicking at the growth, he discovered metal plating.

Whatever this had been, it had made an enormous impact upon crashing here for it to be damaged like this. He figured nearly half of it was crushed or buried into the ground. There was no way to tell where it had come from but it was clearly not a gummi ship. He reached out to push aside some of the moss and other growth in an effort to examine the metal-

"_Where are you, little one?"_

…_creaking noises and the hiss of air escaping…steam billowing out in front of his face and he was unable to move despite not being held down…cold metal on his back…_

…_the sound of someone heaving metal, their breath pained and labored…_

"_There you are!"_

…_a man's face appears before him, brown eyes looking him over as bloodied hands check his body…a sigh of relief…_

"_It's okay, little angel." Blood trickled down the man's face. "You're going to be okay."_

"Riku!"

The sliver-haired male pulled his hand away from the wasted metal. He turned his head and blinked dumbly. "Sora?"

His best friend ran past the engine casing and nearly plowed into him. His blue eyes were large and full of worry. "What are you doing out here?"

"I…" Riku re-faced the downed vehicle. His voice sounded distant to his own ears. "This was never my world…"

"Riku…" Sora spoke slowly, obviously concerned with Riku's state of mind.

Riku did not know how but this ship was connected to him somehow. It was what connected him to the man he kept hearing and seeing since arriving here. It should have scared him but it didn't; all he felt was a strange relief that he was about to get some kind of answer to a question he had not fully formed yet. There had to be something here that would explain what was happening to him.

"I wonder if I can get inside." He started looking for an access point. There had to be some kind of opening in the metal, a break in the plates. "Help me look, Sora."

The younger one hesitated but eventually began searching also. As Riku made his way around the nose of the ship, Sora took a magically enhanced leap up to the top of the wreckage. He slipped a bit on the moss but quickly recovered. Riku glanced up at him as the brunet carefully went toward the back. Sora probably knew more about space craft than he did having spent so much time travelling on gummi ships.

"There's a break here where the other engine should be." Sora announced. "It's not very big… I don't think you'd fit."

Riku pursed his lips. He really needed to know what was in this ship. There had to be something…" "Can you get in?"

Sora stared at him. He knew Sora did not understand why this was so important to him. Truth be told, he wasn't sure either. He just knew he needed to find something here, something that would tell him if there was anything to these visions or if this was all some elaborate design created by his fucked up head.

Blue eyes broke their contact and Sora hunched down. He examined the opening and carefully repositioned himself. Putting his legs through, he stopped and met Riku's eyes again. "What am I looking for?"

Riku met his friend's eyes. "I don't know."

He saw Sora's concern but the boy just nodded and slipped inside. Riku could faintly here Sora moving around and every so often it sounded like he was moving something. Impatiently he waited for Sora to come back out, praying he would find something.

Several minutes passed, then a head of spiky hair popped up from the hull. Sora hefted himself out, grunting at the effort. Once he was clear, he stood and wiped his grimy hands on his baggy shorts. "It's totally torn up in there. I could only go a few feet."

"Did you find anything?"

"It was pretty empty." Sora jumped down to stand near his friend. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a faintly glowing orb. It was a pale green and the color swirled giving it a cloudy appearance. "This was lying on the floor near a locker. No idea what it is."

Riku took the item from him. It felt warm in his hand and there was a brief surge of energy that ran through him but it was gone almost instantly. It concerned him a bit but he did not feel any different after. He examined the object for a moment then pocketed it. When he got home, he would try to figure out what it was and where it came from using the data base.

"I also found this." Sora took a torn scrap of fabric from another pocket. It had once been white but it was now a molted gray and streaked with black. It could have been a piece of sleeve and there was a shredded section of a patch attached to it. The deep red was framed by white and a white diamond intersected the top portion. The lower half of the patch was completely gone but there were yellow lines that looked like it might have been writing. It was impossible to decipher what it might have said.

Riku also took this from him and stared at it. The man had been wearing a torn, white coat… something like a lab coat. This was his confirmation that whoever this man was, he had been real. Why was he seeing him? What did any of this have to do with him?

"Riku," Sora spoke slowly. "What is all of this about? Please, tell me."

Hearing the pleading tone of his closest friend's voice Riku found himself wanting to confess everything to Sora. He wanted to tell him about the nightmares, the dreams, the voices, the strange thoughts and random shifts in emotions. All Sora wanted was to help him but he knew that he could not; not this time. However, he wouldn't keep Sora unaware of at least part of what was happening. He would not let Sora keep worrying so much.

"I'll tell you what I can on the way back." He promised. "We should get out of here."

Sora's lips were turned down but he nodded and they made their way away from the wreckage.

--0—0—

They dropped Sora's boat off on the other side of the play island and returned to the main one in Riku's. As he rowed, Riku confessed to everything that had been happening since he and Cloud had arrived. That was, he spoke of everything pertaining to the man. He detailed the dreams, the voice and the pulling to go out there and investigate.

He left out the random, dark, disturbing thoughts; he was still convinced that those had to do with the stress. He hadn't had a problem with them in two days now. It was relieving to and scary to get what he did out.

Sora listened to him carefully, taking everything he said in. Riku watched him, looking for any sign indicating the other's reaction. Sora was keeping rather neutral and that troubled him. He could not tell what Sora was thinking.

When he finished, they were quiet for several long moments.

Sora glanced at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. "You really think that wreck has something to do with you?"

"I don't know," replied Riku honestly. "I just… you know I never thought I belonged here. What if I really didn't? What if I really did come from another world? I mean, Kairi came here from Radiant garden. Why couldn't I be from somewhere else, too?"

"I guess it's possible." Sora turned his face to the water. "But that's not the part that concerns me. It's the voices…"

Riku blinked at him. He had only told Sora about the one voice.

"I know there's more going on than what you told me, Riku." Sora took a chastising tone. "I'm not going to push you but, you need to start talking to someone, if not Cloud then me. Maybe it is just the darkness but even if it is, we need to know what's going on with you. Even if we can't help, we can support you."

Swallowing thickly, Riku exhaled slowly. "There is more… I haven't told Cloud about this…"

Sora fixed his eyes on him. He did not push, just like he said, but his expression encouraged him to continue.

The older teen carefully explained the nightmares he had been having and the voice that occasionally whispered to him. He glossed over the extreme changes in his thought patterns, only hinting at the abrupt shifts in mood that Sora had already picked up on. It was enough for Sora to get the vague picture.

"Do you think the two are connected?" Sora suggested thoughtfully. It was obvious he was trying not to freak out about Riku's confession.

"I don't think so…With the man, it's more like a memory, like he's trying to make me see something. With her…" Riku didn't want to think about her. There was an obvious malevolency to the woman who spoke to him and yet, there was something about her tone that spoke to his heart…

They were coming up to the docks now; the sound of the workers preparing for a busy day drifting toward them over the water. Riku steered them to the small, low dock at the far end that people could keep their small boats. When they pulled up, Sora hopped out and tied the boat as Riku settled the oars and followed him out.

Standing together on the narrow dock, Riku looked to his dearest friend. "I can't tell Cloud about any of this."

"You need to, Riku, if not for you then for him. He's extremely worried about you and loves you deeply. He deserves to know what's happening."

"I know."

They fell quiet again.

"Just promise me you'll at least keep talking, even if it's only to me."

Riku did not want to make that promise because he wasn't sure he could keep it. He wanted too, he wanted desperately to be able to just put everything out there but he was too… "I promise to do what my heart tells me."

Sora studied his face for a beat then nodded slowly. "If you stick to that, I know you'll be okay."

Sora's phone rang and Riku knew immediately who it was. He had not brought anything with him when he left the resort. As Sora pulled out the phone, he held out his hand for it. It would be better if he talked to his lover directly and reassured him.

Sora gave him the phone and Riku answered without bothering with a greeting. "I'm okay, Cloud."

"Where are you?" he could hear the panic in Cloud's voice and it stabbed at his heart.

"I'm at the dock." He paused. "I just needed some time to myself."

"But your okay?"

"Yeah." Riku was extremely apologetic. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

"As long as you're alright."

"I am. I'm coming back now."

"Okay."

"I love you, Cloud."

"I love you, Riku."

The silvered male ended the call and handed the phone back to Sora. He felt horrible for upsetting Cloud and he knew he should have left a note or something of the like for him. He knew how worried Cloud got when he randomly disappeared; he was the same way when Cloud did it.

"Don't shut him out, Riku."

Riku nodded. He was going to do what he could to ease Cloud's mind. He could not tell him everything just yet, but he would tell enough to assure the man things were under control. It would get him to stop worrying and that would take a load off of Riku. He could then focus on piecing together what he knew and what else to tell him.

"I'll call you later, Sora."

"I'll be waiting."

Riku placed his hands in his pockets and began walking toward the dock the ferry to Haven made berth at. His fingers found the scrap of cloth and he began idly rubbing it between his fingers. Something within him calmed and he smiled just a touch.

He had no idea why.

--0—0—

As soon as he entered the suite, Riku knew Cloud wanted to attack him. What he could not decide was whether it was to yell at him, ream him out, fuck him senseless or to simply hold him. At the moment, none of those options sounded appealing.

As it was, cloud did not move from the French doors he had been gazing out of. He turned immediately toward Riku, his expression its odd mix of emotions. He did not say anything.

Sighing, the teen stepped slowly to him. "I'm sorry. I should have left you a note…"

Cloud did not ask where he had gone. "I'm glad Sora was with you."

"He wasn't at first." Riku stopped beside him. "He found me a few hours ago. I told you, alone time."

The blond's jaw twitched and he turned away.

"Cloud." Placing his long fingers on Cloud's arm, he was only in pants, he tried explaining why he left. "Since we got here, I've been feeling this…need to go to the play island. I don't know why and it has nothing to do with Xehanort or the door. But I've felt this need and last night, I just knew I needed to do it or it was going to keep nagging at me which would have defeated the whole reason we came here."

Cloud remained silent for a long moment. He barely moved his head to glance down at Riku's hand on him. "Why didn't you say anything? We could have gone yesterday."

"I…" the younger one swallowed. "I don't know."

Cloud pulled away and walked into the room. He paused in the middle and angled his face down, leaning his weight. "I guess I have no right to be upset; I would have done the same thing." The abruptly turned and anger lit his eyes. "But I am. When I woke up and you were gone…it terrified me, Riku. I haven't been that scared in a long time."

Riku blinked back tears. "I'm sorry."

Blowing out an angry breath, Cloud shook his head. "I know; I am, too. You don't need me freaking out on you. We both need our space sometimes; that was part of the deal when we got together."

Riku studied him, his heart clenched oddly. He suddenly realized that he and Cloud had at some point slipped into another phase in their relationship. He wasn't certain what it was exactly but he knew the dynamics were different.

He cautiously came over to his lover and slipped his arms around his waist. When Cloud looked at him, he did not smile but let his eyes express what he was feeling. "Yes, we need out space… that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least tell the other when we're taking it."

Cloud searched his eyes for only a second before a trace of a smile pulled at his lips. "Yeah."

Riku knew that they were going to be okay again and lightly kissed the other. Their relationship had changed and it would be stronger because of that. So long as they both kept the other informed of the simple basics of what was going through their heads, it would be enough. This greatly relieved him.

Cloud deepened the kiss, bringing a hand up to Riku's cheek. Riku relaxed further and tugged his lover's compact body closer to him. He spread his fingers along the shorter man's back, needing to touch as much skin as possible. They needed to reconnect and it appeared both knew it.

He guided Cloud toward the bed, fingertips pressing in and then dipping below the waistline of his pants. He felt Cloud's sigh and broke the kiss to move his lips to the man's jaw. After only a moment of this, Cloud was pushing him away and rushing to remove Riku's shirt.

Riku began unfastening Cloud's pants just as the blond did the same on him. Both tried to accomplish this task while their mouths explored one another's faces, neck and shoulders. Riku had a much easier time of it and once he had Cloud stripped of his clothes, dropped to his knees and took hold of the swordsman's partial erection.

Cloud's hand came to tighten on his hip as he moaned and temporarily stopped his actions. Riku ran his hand along his length long enough to bring it to full erection before removing it and wrapping his mouth around it instead. Cloud bucked once, nails digging in as he gasped.

Only a minute in, Cloud got Riku to stop. He had the teenager stand and rushed to get the rest of his clothes off before pushing him back onto the bed. Spreading Riku's legs open, he got on his knees between them and instantly returned the favor, his lips sealing around hardened flesh as he ran gentle fingertips everywhere he could reach.

Biting back a cry of bliss, Riku gripped the sheets and tossed his head back. He quickly became lost in sensation and all the worries and questions disappeared. All there was, was Cloud and passion and need. This was as real as anything got.

…And when Cloud stopped to reposition him and then thrust into his body, Riku ceased to care about anything else.

--0—0—

True to his word, Riku called Sora hours later. He did not bother getting out of bed, lying on his back with Cloud dozing on top of him. He smiled down and played with the spiky blond hair on his chest. "Yeah, everything is great. We talked a bit…"

Sora laughed. "And I can guess what you spent the rest of the time doing."

"Yeah."

"Well, Kairi wanted to get together before you left tomorrow but I can tell her you have other plans."

Riku frowned. He really wanted to see his friends before leaving because he knew it could be a very long time until he saw them again. He figured it was around seven now; if he could wake Cloud up and they hurried… "Well, we could try to catch the next ferry…"

Cloud's hand shot up and he snatched the phone from Riku. He brought it to his ear and in a surprisingly alert voice stated, "If you and Kairi come here, I'll treat you both to anything you want from the desert bar."

Riku could barely hear the 'really?'

"Yes, and bring your swimsuits. We haven't checked out the indoor water park yet."

Sora's yell was clear. "Awesome!" We'll be on the next boat!"

Cloud closed the phone and handed it back to Riku. "Problem solved and I don't have to leave this bed for another twenty minutes."

Chuckling, Riku tossed the phone on the bed stand. "Fair enough."

"I thought so." The blond shifted so that he could look up at his lover. "Have to end this trip on a high note."

"And four hours of mind-blowing sex doesn't count?"

"Eh, we can have that at home."

"True." The teen pulled at a long yellow spike. "This is going to sound weird but I'm glad we're going back tomorrow. I miss home."

Cloud lifted his head and lightly rested his chin on Riku's chest. "Naw, I understand. I just hope the trip helped."

"It did." Riku assured him with shining eyes. "I feel better than I have in a long time."

And he meant every word. He felt recharged and ready to tackle the next challenge that came his way. His and Cloud's bond was stronger than ever and he had the added reassurance that no matter what happened, Sora was there for him. He could not be in a better place in life and he could handle what came next, good or bad.

Cloud smiled happily, pleased that his idea had ultimately worked. "Then it's worth the hell I'm probably going to get from Leon when we get back."

"Oh, he'll be fine." Riku grinned. "And if not, I'll work on him."

A blond eyebrow lifted. "If he wasn't _very_ straight, I'd worry about the two of you."

"Yeah, but he is." The younger tapped one of Cloud's shoulders. "We gonna clean up a little before they get here? The room reeks of sex."

Sighing, Cloud rolled off of him. "Yeah, we should. I have to see if my trunks are dry yet anyway."

"Not that it matters if we're going to the water park." Riku followed him out of bed. "Though putting on wet ones does kinda suck."

"Just a little. So, water park then desert?"

"Works for me." Riku glanced at the time. "They'll be on the ferry now."

Cloud headed for the bathroom. "Better get the bed straightened up then."

Riku rolled his eyes and set to work.


	8. Subtle Changes Shape the Future

Yep, still here, still working on stories... Just very slowly. Let me know if you're still with me on this one.

Reminder: only the story is mine.

* * *

Subtle Changes Shape the Future

Riku waited patiently as Cloud checked them out, looking over the items for sale at the gift shop. They had gotten gifts for everyone they cared to buy them for at the shops and stands that Riku had frequented as a child, but it was interesting to see the junk these places tried, and often succeeded, in getting tourists to purchase. What would people do with half of this crap?

The night before had been a blast. Nearly the minute Sora and Kairi stepped off the ferry Sora was dragging them to the gigantic water park on the opposite side of the hotel. Riku and Cloud had expected this and were waiting at the lobby doors in their swim trunks with towels. Kairi had rolled her eyes in amusement as Sora took her hand and ran ahead with her, only to have to wait for Riku and Cloud to let them into the park. The park itself was impressive with three body slides, a tube slide, wave pool, water garden and a surfing station, which Cloud surprised everyone with how good he was at.

They spent a solid four hours in the water before they finally left, and that was only because Cloud noticed that there was a half hour before the last ferry left. They had to scarf down their promised dessert at the ice cream bar so that Sora and Kairi could catch their ride back to the main island. Before they left, both teenagers had hugged Riku and told him they were happy to see him feeling better.

"Hey." Cloud touched Riku's arm, prompting the teen to look at him. The older man smiled easily, his blue eyes bright and happier than Riku had seen in some time. "Ready to get out of here?"

Riku smiled back. "Yeah, let's go home."

-0—0—

It was back to their daily routine the day after their return. After dragging Cloud out of bed, Riku went to Ansem's study to continue the likely hopeless task of deciphering the computer data and bringing the information and city systems of the world back online. For most of the week, he worked alone, Leon occasionally checking up and Cloud stopping by with lunch so they could eat together. Life returned to normal and Riku was thankful for that.

"User Riku." Tron's artificial voice broke the quiet.

"What's up?" Riku didn't look away from the operating system for the castle power grid. When he had lived there during his brief time with Maleficent, there had been power within the castle but at some point it had failed. Cid's preliminary search did not reveal any issues with the wiring or hardware so it was likely a computer problem.

"A primary search of the vital systems to the town have revealed a glitch in the X-4-6-M sector. Should I attempt a repair?"

"Yeah."

Tron fell silent and in the corner of the screen, processor usage spiked up. Unconcerned, Riku continued his work. A short time later, he discovered the problem –a set of failed boot-ups in the second phase of the electrical system's start up. He corrected the pathway and rerouted the signal. All checks lit up and the system read ready.

Smiling, he pulled out his phone. Leon would be pleased that the problem was fixed and they could get to real work out there. The castle was something many of them had been itching to get to and now that the city proper was for all intent and purpose completed outside of some glitches and tweaking of things, they were ready to tackle the next large project. With power, it appeared the castle would be it.

He made his quick call, Leon stating that they would begin sending teams out next week, and set the phone on his leg as he stretched. The day had been productive and he wasn't supposed to leave for another hour but there were no projects for him that would get anywhere in the time left before the workday ended. He doubted Leon would say anything if he went home early.

"Tron?"

"Yes, User Riku?"

"I'm going to head out. Close up everything when you finish that repair, okay?"

"Affirmative." There was a brief pause. "Oh, I attempted to locate more information pertaining to that folder you discovered seven days ago."

Riku blinked. He had forgotten about that. Curious, he asked, "Did you find anything?"

"No more information than what I've already conveyed to you."

"Okay, well, thanks for trying."

"You're welcome."

While it was a bit of a letdown, Riku didn't really expected to find anything and when one got down to it, it wasn't important. It was an isolated folder and not causing any issues. Someday when he was bored maybe he'd try cracking the codes again but for now, he'd just leave it be.

Standing, he turned off the monitors and left the computer room. As he walked the metal corridor, his footsteps echoing softly, he got a strong feeling of déjà vu. He had walked this path at least a hundred times before and had never gotten this particular feeling… almost a memory of another hall similar to this one…..

Subconsciously, he reached into his front pocket. His fingers brushed against the scrap of fabric Sora had found inside the downed ship on the play island. That scrap surrounded the faintly glowing ball found with it and even through that barrier of cloth, Riku could feel the energy emanating from it. Since returning to Radiant Garden, Riku had kept the items on him. Somehow, he was comforted by having them.

"Hey, Ku." Zell greeted as Riku left the building. The sun was bright today but it was chilly due to the late season. Winter would be coming soon. "Leaving early today?"

"Yeah, can't do anything else as of now."

"Well, can you spare an hour to help me? I just need another set of hands."

Some actual physical labor sounded good and Riku freed his hand of his pocket. "Sure."

-0—0—

It ended up being three hours but Riku didn't mind. It felt great to be outside, working with his hands, climbing scaffolding and moving construction items. The chilled air was refreshing as opposed to being uncomfortable like he usually found it.

Cloud had also wound up working late so they met up at Seventh Heaven for a quick dinner. The bar was surprisingly busy for it being midweek but they found an empty table toward the back and when Tifa caught sight of them, she simply called over if they wanted their usual. As they waited, Cloud took Riku's hand and lightly brushed it with his thumb.

"You are not going to believe what I found out today," He murmured, an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah?" Riku was very curious. Cloud wasn't a gossip so it had to be good if he was passing the information on.

"Leon's been sleeping with Irvine."

Riku's eyes widened and he leaned forward. "Really? I thought they were both straight. I've only seen Irvine with women."

"Apparently it's an open relationship."

"Wow, didn't see that one at all."

"Me neither." Cloud nodded at Jesse as he delivered their drinks. "I guess he really is human."

They slowly drank, waiting on their food and talking about their days. A few other patrons left, some of them saying quick greeting if they passed the couple. It was strange how well known they were considering they tended to prefer being in the background.

Tifa brought their dinner, smiling at Cloud as she set the plates down. For the first year of their relationship, she had been against it, worried that it would be detrimental to Cloud's well-being. She had eventually backed down but she remained wary of Riku. "Hey, guys."

"Evening, Tifa." Riku returned softly with his own faint smile.

"You guys haven't been in for a while." The woman commented. "I was beginning to think you were hiding from Zack."

"You can't hide from Zack." Cloud laughed, picking up a sweet potato fry. When in doubt of Zack Fair's whereabouts, he was usually at the bar. "Though he hasn't tried talking us into a double date since we went away. I'm getting suspicious."

"He's probably just giving you a break. When he comes back, it'll be full force."

"Probably."

Tifa was quiet for a moment, then glanced at Riku. "How have you been? You looked… Well, bad for awhile there."

"Thanks for the honesty." Riku scowled. He caught Cloud's soft smile and his ire faded. "I'm good. The vacation helped a lot."

"I'm glad." She squeezed his shoulder. "Well, I need to get back to work. Let me know when you're leaving."

Cloud nodded as she left. Riku grew quiet and focused on his food, pushing back the depression that was stirring. He knew Tifa only wanted what she felt was best for Cloud and he respected that but it didn't excuse her from acting like Riku was some kind of ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

"Hey."

Riku looked up and upon seeing his lover's affectionate gaze, smiled. Under the table, he moved his leg to brush his foot against Cloud's calf. He then slid it up to his knee, noting the subtle change in Cloud's expression.

"You're about to get yourself in trouble." The blond murmured, taking a slow swig of beer.

"I like trouble." The teenager smirked playfully. He took his foot away and twirled some pasta on his fork. "But if you're not interested…."

"I never said that."

Aqua eyes flicked up to meet blue. 'Then I'll just have to be especially bad on the way home."

"You do that we may not get home."

Laughing, Riku brought his fork to his mouth. "That's okay, too."

-0—0—

_Where are you?_

Riku awoke in a tangle of limbs, his head on Cloud's chest. The lingering echo of his dream faded quickly, leaving him feeling somehow alone. Cloud's heartbeat was steady in his ear, his warmth bleeding out and into Riku's body and yet, there was a peculiar emptiness in his heart.

Carefully, Riku pulled away from Cloud and their bed. He padded over to his discarded jeans and fished around in one of the pockets until he felt the rough material of his cloth scrap. That loneliness disappeared and he smiled softly. He didn't understand the comfort that small patch of material gave him but it didn't much matter to him.

Allowing himself a moment, he released the piece and dropped his jeans back down. It was still early morning and there were a few more hours before they needed to be up. He returned to the bed, slipping back in beside Cloud and pillowing his head on the man's arm. Cloud barely stirred, making a quiet noise. Settled, Riku closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

-0—0—

"I'm going to be late again."

Riku sighed angrily. "What happened now?"

"There was a rockslide and it jammed up the aqueduct intake. We got the wall stabilized so now we need to clear the debris out. It'll take a few hours."

"Right." Riku balanced his phone on his shoulder. This was the third time this week that some catastrophe had befallen and Cloud was required to stay late. "So I'll just wait for you again."

"You don't have to do anything." Riku could hear Cloud's frown. "Did you make plans or something?"

"It wouldn't make a difference if I had," Riku muttered. "Go, work. I have things to do."

"Riku-"

"Bye, Cloud."

He hung up quickly and tossed the phone to the side with a scowl. Somewhere in his mind he knew that it wasn't that big of a deal and he shouldn't be so angry with Cloud. It was this damn mess of a world. It really made no sense to be putting all of this work into restoring a dying world. That was the reason they were having so much trouble; this world wanted to die and they weren't letting it.

_You can be this world's savior._

Riku gave up on his search of the pantry; if Cloud wasn't coming home until late then there was no point cooking dinner. There was leftover fried rice he could pick at if he got hungry. Closing the door with more force than necessary, he left the kitchen and went to the living room. In annoyance, he dropped down onto the sofa and stared out the bay window.

Leaves were beginning to change color and he was glad that they had chosen to build their home more on the outskirts of the city. They had an actual yard, even if it was small, and there wasn't the claustrophobic feel that the homes closer to the castle proper had. There was a more laid back, peaceful feel to the area.

Across the narrow street, three children played, running around with a ball and tossing it between them. Feeling a stirring of emotion at the sight, Riku stood and retrieved his sketchbook from upstairs. Armed with it and a few pencils, he went outside and sat on the front stoop, opening the spiral bound pages to a blank one.

He took pencil lead to paper and began sketching, losing himself in creating what his mind saw.

-0—0—

"Riku." Cloud's voice was rather sharp.

Riku looked up, suddenly feeling very alert and wondering why. It had grown dark and fairly chilly out; neither of which he had noticed while drawing. The street was quiet and empty, families long since turned in for the night. Where had the time gone? He often got caught up in his art but this was something new.

Cloud's eyes held a bit of concern. "How long have you been out here?"

"I came out a little while after you called." The silvered young man closed his book without looking at what he had drawn. "I must have lost track of time."

"Must have." Cloud watched him stand. With slight hesitation, the blond lifted his hand and brushed his fingers along Riku's cheek. "Sorry I've been so absent lately."

"Not your fault." Riku dismissively waved, turning to go inside. "It's this damn planet and Leon's. One day soon, all of you will see how wasted your efforts are."

It took Cloud a few moments longer to follow Riku in but the teen didn't notice. He dropped his sketchbook on one of the lower steps to take upstairs later and proceeded to the kitchen. "Did you eat?"

"Yeah, Aerith brought food out for everyone."

"That woman really enjoys playing the saint, doesn't she?" Riku removed spinach, grilled chicken, and feta cheese from the fridge. He located a bowl to make a quick salad. "Acting sweet to disguise what she really is…" He trailed off and after a moment asked, "Everything fixed out there now?"

He didn't look back as Cloud answered, "…Yeah. It ended up being an easier fix than we thought. For the rest of the week, a team is building some stuff to ensure it doesn't happen again."

"Good." Riku added a bit of garlic and olive oil to his food. He gave Cloud a brief, shy, little smile. "I don't like being separated from you for too long."

The blond swordsman returned the expression. "I always come back."

"I know." He walked over to his lover, picking at a piece of spinach. Riku wasn't sure why, but he felt like if Cloud wasn't around him…bad things would come about. "I count on that."

Cloud frowned. He hadn't heard that lost tone from Riku in a long time. "Riku…"

"Tomorrow morning I'm going out to the Ravine with Aerith to collect herbs." Riku left the kitchen, Cloud following after. "After that, I'll probably work some more with the computers."

"Okay."

The younger man turned and smiled softly at Cloud, brushing at his face with his free hand. "You look exhausted."

Cloud shrugged. "It was a lot of work out there."

Riku stepped closer, running his hand down to massage at Cloud's neck. "When I finish eating, we'll go to our room and I'll give you a long rub down."

The blond smiled as he sighed and angled his face down. "Is that all I get?"

"I don't know," whispered the other, stepping closer and trailing his fingers down to Cloud's shoulder. He brought his lips to the back of the man's neck as he continued the massage. "I think you need to earn anything else."

"And how would I do that?"

Riku set his salad on the hall table, completely disinterested in it. "Hmmm…I'm sure I'll think of something…" He pushed Cloud forward and toward their bedroom. "Of course, everything depends on what exactly you want me to give to you."

Cloud grinned wickedly as he chuckled. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

-0—0—

"Thank you for coming with, Riku," said Aerith quietly, and with more than a bit of annoyance. "Zack's been rather paranoid about me going anywhere lately."

"Well, with all the recent problems with the environment, it's not that surprising." Riku shrugged. "Rock slides, flooding, random storms… I'm surprised Leon hasn't ordered a general rule that no leave the town proper alone."

"Yes, the world is very confused now," Aerith observed. "It's worried. The last time it experienced this much change, it nearly died and had to become Hollow Bastion to survive. Its heart is uncertain of our intentions."

"Hopefully we'll be able to convince it that we only mean to repair the damage done to it." Riku stuffed his hands in his pockets. It was interesting that Aerith had become as connected to Radiant Garden as she had been with her homeworld. While there wasn't a consciousness here like the Lifestream had been, she was in tune with its heart. It was assumed that the Cetra were simply able to adapt to the world they called home. "One of these days, someone is going to end up seriously hurt… Or worse."

"I don't think it would come to that." Aerith smiled easily. "Radiant Garden trusts us; it's just wary."

"After everything we've done for it, I would hope so."

They continued on in silence until Aerith walked away to a cluster of rocks and knelt down. Riku waited as she selected several sprigs of plant life and placed them in her basket, having no idea what they were or how they were used. Aerith collected both food and medicinal herbs but usually not on the same outing. He vaguely remembered her once saying that the medicinal ones were out in the Ravine and the Dark Depths. Ultimately, he didn't really care and he glanced at the walls of rock around them, rather bored.

The only life out here was the random herbs that grew in hidden spaces along the rocky ground. In a way, it was ironic that plants that could save lives were only located in the most life-devoid areas. Riku wondered if there was a symbolism to it or the environment was conditioned so that only those worthy survived. Survival of the fittest was a common idea on all worlds, and certainly was often the case. He'd been to few places where the weak survived without the protection and assistance of the strong.

Riku had been weak. He had been weak and because of that, he had been manipulated, used, and ultimately cast away into the darkness. However, unlike others before him he had gained strength from that. He'd turned his weakness into strength. What he had believed was what made him vulnerable was his power.

_Strength and power that you've abandoned, foolish child._

"Riku?"

He turned away from the rock face and looked at Aerith. "Yeah?"

Aerith's eyes held confused concern. "I'm finished here."

"Okay." He walked toward her and she fell into step beside him. "Find some good sprigs?"

"As good as I'll find this time of year." Aerith hooked her basket over a wrist. "I'll need to go out a few more times this week. Hopefully some more will be ready to be picked. Once winter comes, all we'll have are what I can collect now."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and no one will get sick."

"That I'm not worried so much about; there are alternatives to treat illness." She frowned, worrying her lip. "It's any injuries or wounds that may become difficult. Those herbs will be in short supply and compounds have limited shelf-life once created."

A subtle, dark laughter echoed in Riku's ears. Glancing around, he saw nothing –the path was as devoid of life as it had been- and he sensed nothing when he scanned the area. It must have been the echo of the winds that occasionally blew through the passes and fissures of the mountains. He didn't feel anything that could be construed as threatening.

"Well, the odds of any fights are pretty low," Riku commented softly. "There's been no Heartless, or monsters, in months."

When Aerith spoke, there was an absent tone to her voice. "Hopefully, it stays that way."

He flicked his aqua eyes at her, seeing her distant expression. "Aerith?"

She shook herself of the moment, and smiled gently at him. "Let's see what else we can find before we have to go back."


End file.
